Those Left Behind: A Prince Caspian Remake
by tin2lo
Summary: Movie-verse. If Edmund and Susan didn't go through the wardrobe after chasing the stag, how would it effect the time during Prince Caspian? Would they ever see Peter and Lucy again? ...
1. Chapter 1

**Hey. I know what everyone out there is thinking. Why am I writing a new story when I should be updating? Two reasons: 1. I'm crazy and 2. This plot bunny wouldn't leave me alone. This first chapter is probably just a trial. We'll see where it goes. If people don't like it I'll delete it, so please review. Before I forget, updates will be coming for the stories you all do like so please don't kill me just yet.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. Walden/Disney owns the movies, C.S. Lewis owns the books, and the actors/actresses own themselves. The songs that are still only for my pleasure are owned by whoever wrote/sang them.**

_We're going down down in an earlier round  
And Sugar, We're Going Down swingin'  
I'll be your number one with a bullet  
A loaded God complex, cock it and pull it_

_We're going down down in an earlier round  
And Sugar, We're Going Down swingin'  
I'll be your number one with a bullet  
A loaded God complex, cock it and pull it_

-Chorus of "Sugar, We're Going Down" by Fall Out Boy

Chapter One:

Narnia was in prosperity since being ruled by Kings Peter and Edmund and Queens Susan and Lucy. It had been about fifteen years since the battle of beruna against the White Witch. Fifteen years since Edmund was almost killed, fifteen years since they were crowned, and fifteen years since they forgot the world of which they came from.

Today for the four monarchs was no different from any other day, until…

"Your Majesties, the White Stag has been spotted." Mr. Tumnus came running in with this big news. The monarchs all smiled. They had been waiting to find the white stag for a while now.

King Peter was grabbing his cape just like the rest of his siblings. "Which way did it go?" Everyone was walking to the stable for the horses while Mr. Tumnus was answering and trying to keep a small stride next to them.

"Lantern Waste, near the Western Woods."

The four Pevensies were on their horses. "Thank you, Mr. Tumnus." Edmund thanked the faun and they all rode off.

While they were riding off, Edmund, who was the most behind, could vaguely hear Tumnus warn them to watch out for soldiers who "may not be of our kind." Edmund brushed it off for the time being.

After hours of riding, King Edmund the Just had started to slow down.

King Edmund looked at his horse with a small worried expression. "You alright, Philip?"

His friend, Philip who was a talking horse that Edmund first met during training for the battle against the witch, gave back a breathless response. "Not as young as I once was." King Edmund smiled.

The two heard the others come back. Susan was the first to get to him. "Come on, Ed."

"Just catching my breath."

"Well that's all you'll catch at this rate."

Lucy finally got to them, not quite hearing the conversation. "What did he say again, Susan?"

Susan gladly replied. "You girls wait at the castle. I'll get the stag myself." All three of them started laughing while Edmund, who was slightly embarrassed, looked down but tried to think of a comeback until Peter noticed something.

"What's this?" He got off his horse to inspect it. The large object was not quite a tree but was covered in leaves and vines. Everyone else got off their horses to get a better look. Peter continued, "This looks familiar."

Everyone looked at it. Susan responded next. "As if from a dream…"

"Or a dream of a dream…" Lucy continued what Susan was about to say.

Everyone was still looking at it until Edmund heard the sound of a horn. "Isn't that your horn, Susan?"

Susan realized that she had left her horn at the castle for Mr. Tumnus to call them if anything happened. "Oh it is. Maybe I should go back to see what's wrong. You all can stay here and look for the stag, I'll catch up later."

Peter looked at her. "Are you sure you want to go back, Su?"

"I'm not risking anything, Peter. I'm going back." Susan was about to turn but Peter stopped her again. He knew he wasn't going to win this fight.

"Well at least bring someone with you."

Edmund volunteered. "I'll go with her." Peter agreed. Peter said that he would wait there with Lucy, who was still staring at the giant tree like object.

Edmund and Susan rode back in the direction of Cair Paravel. Lucy still hadn't said anything but Peter could tell that she was deep in thought. After about three seconds more of silent staring, Lucy finally spoke. "Spare Oom…" She looked to her left and ran in that direction. Peter followed.

Peter tried calling for her to stop. "Lucy." He muttered to himself while trying to catch up with her, "Not again."

"Lu?" Peter was still trying to make Lucy stop but she kept trying to go.

"Come on" she told Peter. The forest they were in started to feel thicker and it started getting more and more crowded. Peter started to realize something. "These aren't branches."

He heard Lucy respond though she kept moving forward. "I think they're coats."

"Lucy, you're on my foot." The two of them started fussing as the space between started to get less and less.

"Peter, stop shoving."

"Get off me." The two of them were practically yelling at each other. It didn't last long because the next thing they knew, they were right in front of the wardrobe. The two looked at each other with wide eyes because they were no longer adults who ruled a kingdom. They were now children. Peter didn't care much about the fact that they were young again, but he freaked out about the fact that Susan and Edmund weren't with them.

They heard the door coming unlocked and the professor come in. "Oh there you are. What were you all doing in the wardrobe?"

"You wouldn't believe us if we told you, sir." The cricket ball was thrown at Peter.

"Try me." The professor had a sly look on his face. Peter didn't want to ask about his brother and sister just yet so he and Lucy kept quiet hoping that they will come back at a later time considering that Susan did say they would catch up later after checking on Cair Paravel.

Later that night after telling the professor everything, Lucy walked back to the direction of the wardrobe. After telling the professor what happened, he had said that the two of them may be alive in Narnia, but they were dead in England. Lucy opened the wardrobe hoping to be able to get back through and get her brother and sister back. She gasped when she heard the professor behind her.

"I don't think you'll get back in that way. You see, I've already tried."

What he said scared Lucy. If they couldn't get back in, how would Susan and Edmund come out? "Will we ever go back?" The thought of never seeing her siblings again scared her.

"Oh I expect so, but it will probably happen when you're not looking for it." Lucy was hoping that it would happen soon. She didn't know if she'd see them again.

The professor kept talking. "All the same," he paused then whispered, "best to keep your eyes open."

Lucy smiled. She would one day see her siblings. For hers and Peter's sake, she was hoping it was soon. Mostly because, Narnia time runs different then English time. Hopefully Aslan was able to make it so that at least when they returned, their siblings would still be alive and well.

_In this farewell  
There's no blood, there's no alibi  
'Cause I've drawn regret  
From the truth of a thousand lies  
So let mercy come and wash away_

_What I've Done  
I'll face myself, to cross out what I've become  
Erase myself, and let go of What I've Done_

-First verse and chorus of "What I've Done" by Linkin Park

**Ok, so this was a trial chapter. It is the official first chapter, I just want to see if I get good responses because I don't think anyone has taken this idea just yet. Please review so I know whether or not to continue. I know I should be updating but I'll do that later or when I feel like it. I got this idea while playing the Prince Caspian video game for playstation 2. Please tell me what u think.**

**Review?**

**-tin2lo**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed. I swear you guys have made a record number of reviews for me on a chapter with fifteen on the first. I just hope I put some justice and make a good story since so many of you want me to continue.**

**Before I forget, I want to keep everyone happy by not putting too much romance but also not leaving it out. This isn't a story based mostly around the Susan/Caspian thing (I know, shock) but there will be some flirts 'cause this is a movie based story. The most romance in this story is probably small flirts with Susan and Caspian and some Pevensie sibling fluff. It's only to keep both sides happy. So enjoy.**

_Is everybody going Crazy?  
Is anybody gonna save me?  
Can anybody tell me what's going on?  
Tell me what's going on?  
If you open your eyes, you'll see that something is wrong_

-Chorus of "Crazy" by Simple Plan

Chapter Two:

"And that is how Caspian the first, also known as Caspian the Conqueror, took over Narnia." Professor Cornelius had finished his lesson on the first Telmarines to invade Narnia. History and Astronomy were the only two lessons that Prince Caspian the tenth were willing to listen to. Prince Caspian was eighteen and the heir to the thrown after his father, Caspian the ninth, died. Caspian was slowly falling asleep with this history lesson and Professor Cornelius could easily tell. Caspian didn't like lessons on Telmarine history which is why they had blown it off until now. He would have rather heard stories about the Narnians and their traditions and their past monarchs.

Since everyone in the castle was asleep, Cornelius had decided to take a walk around the castle with Caspian while telling him a new story about Narnia: what happened at the Castle Cair Paravel when the Telmarines invaded. He knew it clearly, being passed down from generation to generation of Narnians.

_Flashback:_

_Queen Susan's horn was sounded for a reason. King Edmund and Queen Susan raced back as fast as they could to the Cair. It was slightly difficult because they felt a small tugging pain in both of their sides. It was annoying and as the siblings looked at each other, they both knew they were experiencing the same thing. Both thought that it was insignificant being that whatever was happening at the castle was far more important._

_As soon as they got to the front of the castle, they were met with their several generals and Mr. Tumnus carrying the horn. The two monarchs didn't need to ask to know what the problem was. They were escorted by one of the minotaurs to one of the high balconies. The sight was something that all four of them had hoped would not happen, an invasion. There were several Telmarine ships loaded with people and weapons. There were even some soldiers in row boats about to reach the castle._

_Queen Susan gave her brother a meaningful glance and they both rushed off to the armies. The head generals were hastily following along with Mr. Tumnus. They quickly rushed out orders._

"_General Oreius, take half of the army to the front gate of the castle and make sure they don't get any further." King Edmund was walking fast while yelling orders to his generals behind him. He addressed the Head Minotaur now. "Bring the rest of the troops around to guard the people anywhere around the castle."_

_Susan now looked to Mr. Tumnus who tried to keep up with the pace. "Mr. Tumnus please bring King Edmund the two swords that he likes and get me my bow and arrows. Bring King Peter's shield and Rhindon to the secret treasure chamber we built along with Queen Lucy's cordial and dagger."_

"_Yes your majesty." Tumnus quickly ran off to do as he was told._

_After minutes of getting the armies assembled, everyone was finally ready for the close approaching battle. Susan had archers around the high towers of the Cair while Edmund made sure that the lower levels of the castle were protected. The generals took the surroundings. Susan and Edmund didn't even know if they had the will to fight being that some sensation was tugging on their sides. They had no time to think because the first Telmarines had finally made it to shore_

_Before Ed or Su knew it, a large battle was happening almost five feet away from the get of the castle. Susan had her archers shoot arrows at the Telmarines who were farther away from the Narnians. Susan had taught her archers well and they knew how to aim almost as perfectly as the queen so worrying about shooting the other Narnians was not going to be a problem. Edmund knew that the soldiers outside the gate couldn't hold them off on their own because three more ships were about to let more off so King Edmund took himself and half the army inside the castle outside to help._

_The half that left the castle ran fast so that the gate could immediately close so that no one was to get in. King Edmund was pushed back by one of the Minotaur generals._

"_Stay here, King Edmund. You are needed to make sure that the castle does not fall into the hands of these foreigners."_

_Edmund had no choice but to agree. "Take care of my people and soldiers out there." The minotaur understood the honor that was just bestowed upon him. He was in charge of making sure that as many Narnians as possible made it out alive._

_Half of Susan's archers were given permission to leave the high levels of the castle to join the outside fight. Susan looked around at what was happening below her. The faun who led the archers on the other side of the castle came up to her with one of the dwarf soldiers._

"_Your Majesty, the invaders are moving too fast and there are too many. What should we do?" At this time the dwarf was freaking out. Queen Susan knew that there was no winning with these people, not when they were two monarchs short._

"_I will not allow Narnia to fall. No matter what it takes, I will bring Narnia back from the darkness it's going through. By Aslan's mane, I promise you and all of Narnia that we will make it through this." Queen Susan still had not turned to face them. She was saying this partly to herself and partly to the soldiers behind her. She finally faced them. "Alert King Edmund, evacuate the Narnian people to the woods and have our soldiers fall back. The only thing that matters now is getting our people to safety."_

_The faun and dwarf bowed to her in respect. She was strong and brave warrior queen that never backed down. She was there inspiration along with King Edmund who was still fighting with the other soldiers._

_The faun needed to point out something to her. "My lady, I know that you will refuse but we highly recommend that you and your brother join them."_

"_I beg your pardon?" Susan was a little mad that he would suggest something like that. It's amazing that he wasn't Peter._

"_I'm sorry your majesty but we need you and your brother alive in order to make it out of this darkness. Susan didn't want to admit it but he was right. They needed their rulers to take them out of this bloody time._

"And with that, Queen Susan made her decision to join the Narnians who were lucky enough to escape to the woods. King Edmund tried to make sure all of the soldiers still alive and fighting fled with them but some stayed behind the semi ruined castle to attack oncoming ships and incoming soldiers. While fleeing to the woods in a hurry with the royal bodyguards pushing them to keep moving, Queen Susan had left the horn in the chest next to her thrown. She planned on taking it but was rushed by her guards and her brother for her to keep moving. The dwarf, faun, and minotaur realized this and tried to find it and keep it before a Telmarine could destroy it. Luckily, they were successful in keeping it in one piece but no one knows what could have happened to it by now. Those same Narnians who found the horn stayed behind to keep the soldiers from following the Narnian people. They were just no match for the brutality of the Telmarines." Cornelius finished his story.

"I…I thought we killed them all." Caspian was shocked and happy to know that they hadn't completely wiped out all of the Narnians.

"Like I said, some fled to the woods while a few brave souls made a last stand at Cair Paravel. Even then, they had hoped that all four of the thrones would someday be filled again."

"How could my people be so cruel...to wipe out an entire race."

"Did I say that?"

"Well what do you mean?"

"I told you some Narnians fled to the woods, didn't I? Why do you think your uncle and his men fear the woods to this very day?"

"They are alive. The Narnians still exist." Caspian's voice slowly rose in excitement.

"Shhh. You'll wake the whole castle." Caspian didn't care that he was just scolded, he was still excited.

"Where are they now? Can we see them?"

"Perhaps this is enough for one night. All will be clear in time. Remember, Tava and Alambil are said to converge in the heavens. It should be quite a night." The professor smiled and he and Caspian walked back to the bed chamber.

Tonight would be a night to remember.

_I never could've seen this far, I never could've seen this coming  
It seems like my worlds falling apart, yeah  
Why is everything so hard, I don't think that I can deal  
With the things you said It just won't go away_

_In a Perfect World this could never happen  
In a Perfect World, you'd still be here  
And it makes no sense I could just pick up the pieces  
But to you, this means nothing nothing at all_

-First verse and chorus of "Perfect World" by Simple Plan

**Hope you like the second chapter. I'm finally getting into the whole story. Some of the lines were taken off of the two exclusive scenes only found on the Prince Caspian video game of Caspian and Cornelius. If you want to see it, look up "Two Exclusive Scenes from the Prince Caspian Video Game" on YouTube. I do not own the video but for whoever does and is reading this fanfic, Thank you so much!**

**Review Please.**

**-tin2lo**


	3. Chapter 3

**Wow thanks so much for all the reviews. I kinda feel down this week and that just made my day. I hope I didn't lose readers when I said the stuff about the romance. If I did, then I'm sorry. I want to try and keep everyone happy and if it means cutting back on a few things than so be it. I'm sorry to u all if u were a little disappointed in that announcement. Please no mean comments on it. Don't make me sad.**

_This time, I wonder what it feels like  
To find the one in this life  
The one we all dream of but dreams just aren't enough  
So I'll be waiting for the real thing  
I'll know it by the feeling, the moment when we're meeting  
We'll play out like a scene straight off the silver screen  
So I'll be holding my breath, right up till the end  
Is it that moment when, I'll find the one that I'll spend forever with_

-First verse of "Gotta Be Somebody" by Nickelback

Chapter 3:

Prince Caspian wanted to learn more about the Narnians especially since he knew there was a possibility that most were alive. As soon as he and his professor walked back to the bedrooms, he instantly fell asleep dreaming about the Narnians and King Edmund and Queen Susan. For some strange reason, his dream didn't seem like an ordinary one. He was in a forest but not just any forest. It sounded like one of the forests that Professor Cornelius always talked about, a Narnian forest. It may have been dark but he could easily tell he wasn't alone. There were several people in front of him except they weren't people, but Narnians. They were all gathered and quiet waiting for something.

Caspian looked ahead to see that they were staring at two dark figures, a man and a woman. Both the man and woman were wearing dark capes that covered their faces. Only the neck down was shown. The man was speaking in an unfamiliar accent, proving that this wasn't a feared Telmarine. He was speaking to the Narnians as if he was their leader with a sword in one hand held up high and proud while his other hand was on the hilt of the other sword resting on his hip. The woman was slightly taller than the man and since she too was in the front next to the speaking man, he assumed he they must be of close relation. The woman's hair extended down, almost reaching her hip. She had a quiver of arrows in one hand and an unstrung bow in the other. Since so many people were in front of Caspian, he could only see a small amount of red on the arrows. Even with the cape over her face, he could easily tell that she must be a beautiful woman.

Caspian listened to the speaking man until he finally ended his speech by lifting his sword higher and having everyone else lift their weapons in appreciation. He stared at all of the Narnians with their weapons held high until his eyes landed on one special Narnian. He found that one person was looking straight at him. The small light that shone was shining slightly on her face but just enough to see that the women wearing a cape had beautiful light blue eyes. For a second the eyes showed nothing by kindness and gentleness until she was spoken to by the man who noticed her gaze.

"What's the matter, sister?"

She snapped out of it to realize that this wasn't the person she was thinking of. This was a Telmarine. Caspian could see anger in her eyes. She looked at her brother and the Narnians who looked at her with worried expressions. In a normal voice she said "We have a Telmarine in our midst."

Everyone turned to where she was looking. Caspian would have stayed to listen to her voice being that to him it was not only beautiful but with an accent like the man's. It certainly wasn't a Telmarine accent. Everyone turned to where she was looking and slowly started to approach him yelling different things.

"Murderer!"

"Kill Him!"

So many things were being yelled at him and he didn't even do anything. As they were getting closer, he could feel something tight wrap around his mouth. The next thing he saw was pitch blackness and Professor Cornelius hovering over him. He had forgotten it was all a dream. Cornelius was leaning over him with a worried expression on his face. Since he had just woken up he didn't care for the expression, just for more sleep.

"Five more minutes." Caspian tried to turn but was stopped.

"You won't be watching the stars tonight, my prince. Come, we must hurry." Now Caspian was worried and confused but none the less, he followed the professor.

"Professor, what's going on?"

"Your aunt has given birth…" he stopped, paused, and looked at Caspian. "…to a son." Cornelius was already through the secret entrance as Caspian stood shocked. "Come."

Caspian heard footsteps entering his room. He hid in the closet for a few seconds just to see what was happening before following the professor. General Glozelle came in with soldiers and circled his bed. After what felt like an eternity, they all shot at where Caspian was just seconds ago. Caspian was shocked and his bird was screeching but after Glozelle figured out that Caspian was nowhere in sight, Caspian ran to catch up with the Professor.

When they reached the lower levels, Caspian grabbed one of the soldiers' uniforms and a sword. Once he had on his armor and his sword fastened, Cornelius draped his cloak over Caspian and settled him on his horse.

"You must make for the woods."

"The woods?"

"They won't follow you there." Cornelius pulled something out of his pocket. "It has taken me many years to find this." Caspian took it but Cornelius warned him. "Do not use it unless at your greatest need."

"Will I ever see you again?"

"I dearly hope so, my prince. There is so much more I meant to tell you. Everything you know is about to change." Caspian stared at his professor until he heard the sounds of yelling men.

"Now go." Cornelius urged him to leave.

Caspian rode off as fast as he could go. Some guards were trying to stop him but he grabbed one of their larger weapons and through it into a fire. He crossed the bridge but he could hear in the background fireworks. He turned for a second to see what the commotion was. Then he heard the announcement. "A son, a son. Lady Prunaprismia has this time given Lord Miraz a son." Now Caspian could see the soldiers leave the castle and come after him.

He continued running for the woods. It was almost hard for him to breathe. It was cold, he was tired, and if he stopped, he'd get killed. He made it to the woods and while dodging trees, he heard the soldiers stop. Glozelle was telling them something that he couldn't quite comprehend but he didn't care. Unfortunately, they didn't stay where they were for long. They knew that if they did, there would be dire consequences. In about a minute, the soldiers were again after Caspian. He tried going deeper through the woods but it still wasn't enough. He needed to get across the Beruna River. It wasn't easy but he kept urging his horse to keep moving. Eventually he was able to make it across. Behind him, some soldiers had fallen off their horses but the ones who didn't had kept on with the chase.

He was about a mile ahead now so he decided to look back for a second to see exactly how far away they were. As soon as he turned back to see where he was going, he hit a large branch and fell off his horse. His foot was caught on the saddle but the horse kept on moving. He tried to get his foot uncaught and once he was successful, he was too tired to do anything but lay down on the cold ground. After about seconds of just laying there, he slowly started to lean up to see exactly how deep in the Narnian woods he was. He soon heard a noise that didn't belong to the soldiers. He turned to see who or what it was.

There was a small tree like hut with a small light on the inside. Two little people came out. They both looked at him in shock. One had told the other one in a worried voice "He's seen us." Caspian was frightened having never seen anything like these creatures. One came up to him with a sword but stopped short to stare at Caspian. He looked from Caspian to the object on the ground which happened to be the horn. Caspian slowly started to inch closer to the horn thinking that this might be a good time to use it. The small man stopped staring once he heard the horses approaching. He looked at his companion, another small man.

"Take care of him." The man ran straight for the soldiers. The other man who was supposed to "take care of him" started approaching.

As the second little man was nearing him, Caspian lunged for the horn. The man screamed "No!"

Caspian was able to get the horn in time and blew with whatever breath he could manage. Right afterwards his world went black.

In another world, the horn was about to be heard.

_Well there's a time for givin' up  
Didn't want to have to say it  
All we're doing is building walls  
An now there's too many Barriers_

_Here we are, lying here, It's our last final goodnight  
Just because it feels so good, no use pretending we're alright  
Too many locks (locks), Too many crimes (crimes)  
Too many tears (tears), Too many lies (lies)  
Too many Barriers, oh  
There's too many Barriers_

-Chorus of "Barriers" by David Archuleta

**Sorry about not updating sooner. Life just hasn't been kind on free time. Also, I hope this chapter lived up to the previous ones. The point of this chapter was to kind of set the intro for Lucy and Peter's entrance so read the next chapter to see how that turns out. I know that half of this chapter was pretty much close to the movie but like I said, it's an intro for Lucy and Pete.**

**Hope you enjoyed, reviews make me smile and each review is a step closer for me to update.**

**-tin2lo**


	4. Chapter 4

**I have been trying to update every one of my fanfics lately so please don't be mad at me. At the same time, I am trying to get new ideas for my story "the Gentle Queen's Return" but it's getting a little hard. If you're gonna criticize me on something, please don't let it be about my inability to update fast.**

_Can't close my eyes, they're wide awake  
Every hair on my body, has got a thing  
For this place, Oh empty my heart  
I've got to make room for this feeling  
So much bigger than me_

_It cannot be  
Anymore beautiful  
I Can't Take It In_

-First verse and chorus of "Can't Take It In" by Imogen Heap

Chapter 4:

Lucy was by the news stand. She was trying to pretend to look occupied since secretly, she'd rather not be near Peter and hear him lose hope on how we're never going to see Susan or Edmund again. Next to her was some older boy she never met before. He looked really nice but at the same time, someone Susan would never have gone out with. He didn't look any taller than what Peter was. He was probably a little shorter being that Peter holds his head up with the "pride of the High King." He wore a uniform obviously showing that he was in Hendon House, the same boarding school Peter goes to. He had glasses and a hat covering his weird hairstyle. He obviously didn't have many friends or tried to see if Lucy had and older sister he could chat with because he started to talk to Lucy. Lucy, being a nice person, tried to speak with him.

"You go to St. Finbars."

"Yes, that's right." Lucy wanted to try and be friends with him only because she felt a little sorry for him.

"I go to Hendon House across the road…I've seen you, sitting by yourself and with a very sad expression."

Their mother was almost right. She was almost like Susan, spending days by herself because no one could relate to her. At least this nice boy was trying to get to know her and be a little open. Him trying to make her feel better by opening up was better than the countless number of boys who only came to her to ask about Susan. Now that Susan and Edmund were apparently "dead" no one really talked much to her or Peter. "Oh well I prefer to be left alone but thank you for being concerned."

"I'm sorry about your siblings. That must have been horrible to leave your hometown for the country already knowing that your siblings were dead." Lucy thought that he was trying too hard to get to know her because she couldn't tell if she was making her feel bad on purpose or really trying to strike a conversation. When she and Peter walked through the wardrobe, all of the events apparently shifted with the deep magic. Susan and Edmund died when Edmund went back in to get the picture of their father. Susan followed to get him back but a bomb was dropped right by the window before they made it out to the shelter again. That was the apparent story whereas Peter and Lucy knew the real one behind it. The only other one who knew the real story was Professor Kirke, being that he understood Narnia and that their siblings were perfectly well if not already dead with time. After the supposed "deaths" everyone knew who the Pevensies were.

"Yes, well my brother and I manage to get through the day."

"You're Lucy Pevensie right? I'm Ash. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"It was nice meeting you too." He was about to start speaking but a group of Lucy's supposed "friends" came up to her.

"Lucy! You better come quickly. Your brother is fighting again." Her friends were hyperventilating since they ran all the way from the underground station.

Lucy ran to where her brother was and Ash followed behind. They finally made it and they saw Peter in another fight with two other boys. He was getting beaten up bad but nothing worse than battles in Narnia. Ash saw the look of sadness and disappointed in his new friend and decided to help out her brother, not knowing that it could possibly get worse. He jumped into the fight and held one boy off of Peter for a few seconds before he started getting hurt. Luckily, the police started to come and pull each boy off the other.

One officer held Peter and yelled at him "Act your age." He pushed Peter aside. Peter grabbed Lucy's hand and walked to one of the benches with Ash still trailing behind. Ash knew that Peter was a little bitter and stubborn and possibly not know that he existed on the face of this earth so he didn't expect a 'thank you' but he made his presence known anyway.

"You're welcome"

Peter looked at him bitterly. "I had it sorted."

Lucy tried to stop the fight that could possibly come. "Peter." Ash looked at Lucy since Peter looked away. She mouthed a simple "thank you" and he smiled, nodded, and walked away before Peter knew that he was still there.

Lucy looked at her brother. "What was it this time?"

"He bumped me."

"So you hit him?"

"No, after he bumped me they tried to make me apologize. That's when I hit him."

"Really Peter, what would Edmund or Susan say if they saw this?"

"Edmund would no doubt do what that other kid did and Susan would just look at me disappointed and lecture me."

"First of all, he has a name." Peter just smirked and looked away. He obviously didn't care about the other boy's name. "And second of all, you still probably wouldn't have appreciated the help or Susan's advice to just walk away."

Peter couldn't argue knowing that she was right but he still did anyway. "Well I shouldn't have to walk away. I mean don't you ever get tired of being treated like a kid?"

"Um, we are kids." Lucy silently laughed to herself. That was something Edmund would have said.

"Well I wasn't always. It's been a year. How long does he expect us to wait?" Lucy knew that Peter really wanted to get back into Narnia and possibly find out what became of his younger siblings but he was slowly losing hope. That was proven when he finally sighed and said…

"I think it's time to accept the fact that we live here." He held his head down in shame. "There's no use pretending any different."

Lucy rubbed his arm but then jumped up in pain. "Ow!"

Peter looked at her. "Quiet, Lu."

"Something pinched me."

"What are you talking about?" Peter then jumped up. "Something tugged on me."

A strong gust of wind started to pick up. "It feels like magic." Lucy was all too excited.

"Quick, Lu. Hold my hand." Soon the train station disappeared and they found they were on a beautiful beach. The water was a perfect color of light blue and the sand had not been walked on. Lucy turned to Peter and smiled. He smiled back and soon they both ran inside the water taking off their shoes and as much of their ugly uniforms as they could.

They started splashing around and since Lucy was so light, the waves started to push her hard until she kept falling.

"Peter? Pete. What is it?" She was now trying to get Peter's attention since he stopped to stare at something.

"Where do you suppose we are?" Lucy thought that was a little bit of a dumb question.

"Well where do you think?"

"Well I don't remember any ruins in Narnia." Lucy stopped dead in her tracks. She stared at where Peter was staring. He was right. There were ruins that she had never seen before. She and Peter started to climb and see if it was something that they knew about before leaving. As soon as they got to the ruins, they could tell it was a building of some sort because of the stairs and columns that were still standing. They walked around more and Peter found a nice apple tree and grabbed a shiny red apple.

He wiped it on his shirt and tossed it at Lucy. "Lucy."

She grabbed it and took a bite. "Do you still have your sandwiches we packed?"

"Well I left mine in my bag and I left my bag in the train station. And then I left the train station in England."

Lucy smiled at how her brother was now being more fun than bitter. Lucy looked at the view overlooking the beautiful ocean while Peter still wondered.

"I wonder who lived here."

Peter stepped on something which made a nice noise so he picked it up. It looked familiar. He could have sworn that he had seen it somewhere. "I think we did."

"Hey that's Ed's. From his chess set."

"Which chess set?"

Lucy wondered if Peter was all for stupid questions today. "Well he didn't exactly have a solid gold chess set in Finchley, did he?" Lucy knew she was sounding like Edmund but she couldn't help but fill that void. She grabbed it and put it in her bag. She looked in another direction and then realized something.

"Can't be…" She whispered to herself. Lucy ran to what she saw and Peter followed. "Don't you see?"

"What?"

"Imagine walls, and columns there." She pointed to everything she remember and moved Peter in front of his broken throne and moved herself in front of her own broken throne. "And a glass roof…"

Peter could see it now. "Cair Paravel."

_Throw it away  
Forget yesterday  
We'll make The Great Escape  
Won't hear a word they say  
They don't know us anyway  
Watch it burn  
Let it die  
'Cause we are finally free  
Tonight_

-Chorus of "The Great Escape" by Boys Like Girls

**Yes I know it's been a while since my last update and I'm sorry on all of my stories. Life has not been giving me much time to work with and this chapter was hard being that there's only two of them. The next chapter is gonna be even harder which is why I split it up even though I planned on putting it with this chapter. Trust me the only reason it's hard for me to write is because I put a weird little twist to it. I hope it's worth your painful wait. Again…sorry.**

**Please review even after all that I've done.**

**-tin2lo**


	5. Chapter 5

**So I was really excited about writing this chapter so I updated this story first. Hope you like it. Also a quick side note…these next few chapters are dedicated to my close friend cschaferdramaqueen!!! Happy (belated) Birthday!**

Chapter 5:

Lady Prunaprismia was walking through the halls of the Telmarine castle looking for where her husband and her son could possibly be. She turned the corner and paused to see her husband holding their son staring out in the balcony. To her, it was a more beautiful sight than anything else she had seen in Narnia…but then again, she never really left the castle much anyway. She walked up to them to see what was happening. She walked up to Miraz and rested her chin on his shoulder while he slowly turned to face her.

"Showing your son the kingdom?"

"Just getting some air…but you're right, he should see it if he is to rule it one day." She smiled at him. It was a nice moment for her but a thought came into her head.

"Where is Caspian? I thought he would be here." Just then a group of soldiers on horses with a black sack of some sort on another horse started to ride in. The baby started to gently cry as if he knew something was wrong.

Miraz gently put the baby back into the arms of his mother. She was a little surprised at the sudden movement but took the baby no less. "I think we will see him soon enough." And with that, he left. She just stared after to try and understand what he had just meant and what was happening. Miraz had gone to see if his soldiers had caught Caspian as they were supposed to but general Glozelle stopped him before he could go any further.

"Wait! Wait, my lord. It is not what you think."

"Then what is it?"

"We're not exactly sure."

Miraz then walked over to see for himself. He gasped and whispered to himself "Impossible."

The lords of the council were impatiently waiting for the arrival of Miraz. All of them, bickering amongst themselves. All of them arguing about the monarchy in their country, all of them also trying to figure out which lord was the most right out of them all.

Lord Sopespian spoke first. "I warned this council when it would put its trust in Lord Miraz…there would be consequences."

Someone else interjected. "No, no we cannot accuse the lord protector without proof."

Another lord spoke. "How long are we going to hide behind and excuse? Until every chair in this chamber is empty?"

Miraz chose now to make his entrance. "Lords of the council, my apologies for being late. I wasn't aware of any session."

Lord Sopespian spoke again. "No doubt, you were otherwise occupied."

Miraz didn't exactly know what he meant. "My lord?"

The same lord who had spoken about the empty chairs stood up and spoke again but directly towards Miraz. "Ever since the death of Caspian the ninth…you've behaved as if you were king. And now it seems that from behind his walls even Prince Caspian has gone missing!"

Lord Sopespian spoke again. "My deepest condolences Lord Miraz. Imagine…losing your nephew, the rightful heir to the throne on the very night your wife has blessed you with a son." Lord Sopespian had a smug smile on him but it did not do much on Miraz.

Miraz seemed unmoved. He said something to Lord Sopespian to contradict his last sentence but otherwise said nothing more.

Lord Sopespian spoke again. "I trust you can tell us how such a tragedy could occur."

General Glozelle had now arrived and stood quietly by the door. Miraz had seen him and decided to tell what happened to the prince.

"That is the most disturbing news of all. Our beloved Caspian was abducted…" Everyone gasped but Miraz continued. "…by Narnians." Most of the council either gasped or silently chuckled at the thought.

One Lord spoke for all with the same opinion as everyone else…all of them thinking the Narnians were extinct. "You go too far, Miraz. You expect us to stand by while you blame such a crime on fairytales." Miraz said nothing but only lifted his arms signaling for General Glozelle to take out their prisoner. When the little dwarf man walked out everyone immediately got scared and gasped.

Miraz continued speaking. "You forget, my lords. Narnia was once a savage land. Free of creatures roam free. Much of our fore fathers' blood was shed to exterminate this vermin…" Miraz pointed at the dwarf and stared at him. "…or so we thought. But while we've been bickering amongst ourselves…" Miraz again pointed at the dwarf. "…they've been breeding like cockroaches under a rock, growing stronger, watching us, waiting to strike." Miraz side punched the defenseless dwarf in the face causing the gag around his mouth to fall off and letting the dwarf speak.

The small man stared at Miraz. "And you wonder why we don't like you."

Miraz ignored him and kept speaking to the other lords but still staring at the dwarf. "Well I intend to strike back, even if I have to cut down the entire forest, I assure you I will find Prince Caspian and finish what our ancestors began." Miraz had convinced all of the other lords but he himself knew that he would cut down the forest not to find Prince Caspian but for other reasons.

Meanwhile…

A former king and queen were still exploring the ruins of their once beloved home. Peter stumbled upon a giant boulder that was almost perfectly formed into a circle. He knew from years of seeing it that the only way it could have gotten there was by…

"Catapults." He was now inquiring something and Lucy just happened to hear him.

"What?"

"This didn't just happen. Cair Paravel was attacked." They stared at each other and looked to a broken statue to their left. It looked familiar and they both realized what it was. Although Lucy wasn't as strong as Peter, she did her best to push it aside and reveal a door. The door was so old that the wood broke easily. They looked at the stairs leading to the dark abyss. Peter used his pocket knife to cut a piece of his shirt and tied it around a stick. He looked at Lucy.

"I don't suppose you have any matches do you?"

"No but would this help?" Lucy took out Edmund's torch. She had brought it around everywhere only because it brought some kind of special connection or value to her.

Peter smiled. "You might have mentioned that a bit sooner." Lucy smiled back and tossed him the torch. Peter carefully led the way down the stairs. It was quite a walk but they made it to a gate and were able to open it. Lucy was happy and immediately walked/ran to her treasure chest. Peter was still reveling at finding it.

"I can't believe it. It's all still here." Lucy was still staring at her things. Peter was now staring at a sculpture of Aslan's face. He blew the dust off of it and stared into the eyes of an almost replica of Aslan's face.

Lucy was still marveling over all of the stuff she found. She picked up one of her dresses that she wore when she was older. "I was so tall."

"Well, you were older than…as opposed to a hundred years later, when you're younger." Peter didn't look at Lucy when he said that but she looked at him and smiled anyway. Peter put the sculpture of Aslan's face back down and walked over to his chest. He looked at the statue of his older self. He remembered the day where he and his siblings agreed to create the secret chamber and the day where a few of the Narnians volunteered to create their statues. He was now staring at his statue at the man who once was and he soon decided that he would bring that man back…even if it killed him.

He finally lifted the chest to see his things inside. He at first didn't know who could have put his stuff, like his Christmas gifts, inside the chest but he was grateful that they were there anyway. He turned to Lucy and saw that she was inquiring something.

"What is it, Lu?"

"Do you think…hmm…do you think we should, I don't know…open Edmund's and Susan's chests?" Peter hadn't thought about opening their chests and he obviously knew that Lucy was on the fence about opening it being that it's not theirs.

"I think it's only right that we should take a look and maybe find something that would point to what happened to them." Lucy immediately went to Susan's chest and gently opened it. At the same time, Peter went to look inside Edmund's chest. Both were a little shocked at what they found, rather what they didn't find.

Peter asked first. "What is it?"

"Susan's horn…I think she left it with Mr. Tumnus, they day we went back."

"That's alright. What about her bow and arrows?"

"That's not in here either." Lucy was getting worried at where her sister's things could have gone. Could it have been stolen? No it couldn't have or else someone would have taken her stuff too. Peter looked into Edmund's chest. He was also amazed at what wasn't there.

"Peter?" Peter was still staring at Edmund's chest. There were jewels and a papers and journals but that was pretty much it.

"I'm sorry, Lu. I don't know why but Edmund's weapons and clothes aren't in here either. I should know. He loved using his double swords being that he was the only one who could actually do it. Not even his shield is in here."

Peter stopped thinking and went back to his own chest. He found his shield and Rhindon. He lifted up the legendary sword, pulled it out and read the ancient spell. "When Aslan bears his teeth, winter meets its death."

Lucy finished the rest of the quote for him. "When he shakes his mane, we shall have spring again." She was on the verge of tears. Peter just stared at her knowing that she had more to say. "Everyone we knew, Mr. Tumnus and the Beavers even Susan and Edmund…they're all gone."

Peter stared at her but spoke. "I think it's time we find out what's going on." Lucy only nodded.

In the Shuddering Woods:

A young man was about to wake up from what seemed to be his unconsciousness. He felt a small pain in his head and a wrap around it. He pulled off the wrap as he sat up in a small bed. He heard noises from outside the unusually small room.

"Uh, this bread is so stale."

The second voice responded to the first voice. "I'll just get him some soup then. He should be coming around soon."

The first voice spoke again. "Yeah well I don't think I hit him hard enough."

"Nikabrik, he's just a boy." The two started fighting.

"He's a Telmarine, not some lost puppy. You said you were gonna get rid of him." The one named Nikabrik started yelling.

"No, I said I'd take care of him. We can't kill him now. We just bandaged his head. It would be like murdering a guest."

"Oh and how do you think his friends are treating their guest?"

"Trumpkin knew what he was doing…it's not the boys fault." As soon as that sentence came out, he was immediately pushed aside by a fast man walking. Prince Caspian didn't make it far until the dwarf named Nikabrik came in front of him with his sword.

Prince Caspian grabbed the first thing he could find, which was one of the metal rods from the fireplace. He and the dwarf started to go on a small semi sword fight. The dwarf was still staring at Caspian but spoke to the badger. "I told you we should have killed him when we had the chance."

The badger spoke to save Caspian. "You know why we can't."

Prince Caspian gave a pathetic attempt at saving himself. "If we're taking a vote, I'm with him." He referred to the unusually talking animal.

Nikabrik spoke again while delivering one last hit. "Well we can't let him go. He's seen us."

Prince Caspian was backed up until he finally fell on the small stairs. The badger gave one more shot at calming him down. "That's enough, Nikabrik, or do I have to sit on your head again?" The badger stared at Caspian. "And you…look what you made me do." He muttered to himself. "I spent half a morning on that soup."

The badger walked back to get some new soup while Caspian sat amazed. He finally spoke. "What are you?"

The badger spoke with light humor. "You know, it's funny that you would ask that. You think more people would know a badger when they saw one."

Caspian felt stupid. Of course he was a badger, but why was he talking was the real question. "No, no I mean, you're Narnians. You're supposed to be extinct."

Nikabrik was still mad so he came back with a rude response. "Hmm, sorry to disappoint you." Nikabrik went back to his seat.

The badger put the bowl of soup on the table. "Here you go, still hot."

The dwarf was mad at the badger for providing food and shelter to the enemy. "Since when did we own a boarding house for Telmarine soldiers?"

Caspian stopped him right there. The last thing he wanted to be called was a soldier to his uncle's army. "I'm not a soldier. I am Prince Caspian, the tenth."

Nikabrik spoke again. "What are you doing here?"

Caspian wasn't proud but he said it. "Running away." The dwarf and badger just stared at each other. Prince Caspian continued speaking. "My uncle has always wanted my throne. I suppose, I have only lived this long because he did not have an heir of his own."

The dwarf and badger felt somewhat sympathetic for him. "Well that changes things."

The dwarf killed the mood. "Yeah, at least we don't have to kill you ourselves."

Caspian realized something. "You're right." Caspian was about to leave.

The badger stopped him. "Where are you going?"

"My uncle won't stop until I'm dead."

"But you can't leave!" He picked up the horn and Caspian just stared at it. "You're meant to save us. Don't you know what this is?"

At the exact same time in a farther area:

A brother and sister were walking through the forest searching for any signs of life. Peter was leading the way while Lucy trailed behind slowly because of the sorrow she felt. She looked back at the ground but what she saw scared her. Through the ferns, she saw something come straight for Peter.

"Peter look out!" Peter immediately turned around to look at Lucy but he knew what she meant. He pulled out his sword fast enough to block the small sword of the small animal who was tried to attack him. The small creature fell to the ground but immediately stood up on two legs and pointed his sword back at Peter while Peter pointed his sword at the small animal.

The small animal spoke. "Speak your last words, Telmarine before you and your other Telmarine companion meet my blade."

Peter first stared at Lucy to see that she was surrounded in a full circle by more unusually large mice. She half looked happy and half scared. Peter stared back at his opponent and he finally spoke. "By Aslan's mane, you're a Narnian." Peter was slightly smiling as he said that.

"Well at least it's better than saying I'm a mouse. Anyway, prepare to duel bloody Telmarine." The mouse was about to stab Peter again but Peter stopped him.

"Wait, I am no Telmarine and neither is my sister. I trust, good mouse that you know who the two of us are." Peter slowly made his way to Lucy and Lucy hugged his waist while Rhindon was still pointed at the head mouse. The other mice backed off and stood near their leader without putting away their swords.

The head mouse finally figured out. "By Aslan! You two are the missing King and Queen of old!"

Peter smiled. He held out his hand. "High King Peter…the Magnificent." Lucy inwardly chuckled.

"You probably should have left off the last bit."

The head mouse stopped her. "It's alright your majesty. It is an honor to meet the high king and I am guessing you are the Valiant young queen."

Lucy slightly blushed. "Yes, thank you sir mouse."

"It is an honor and a pleasure." The other mice bowed to them. "I am Reepicheep, leader of my army of Narnian mice."

"I thank you for the introduction but you said something about Telmarines…in Narnia."

"Well we _were_ wondering where you have been for the last few hundred years."

Lucy answered. "It's a bit of a long story."

Reepicheep continued speaking. "As is the story of the Telmarines."

Peter continued to stare at the mice. "Tell us about them."

Two stories were taking place on that night. One to a boy about a horn and another to ancient monarchy about a new race. Neither of them knew that their paths would soon cross.

**This was a very long chapter and I hope you enjoyed it. I'm sorry if it was mostly stuff from the movie. I hope you guys like the twisted changes I made. I am putting EVERY seen from the movie in this story just not the way you expected. Tell me what you think so far. Oh and I'm probably only putting songs for scenes that have songs that match it 'cause I couldn't find two that could match this chapter…unless you guys have suggestions.**

**Again, these next few chapters are dedicated to my close friend (see above).**

**Please review.**

**-tin2lo**


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry for those who didn't like the last chapter…thanx for the reviews anyway. I hope you like this chapter. Like I said before, the next few chapters are dedicated to my close and highly stressed friend, cschaferdramaqueen.**

Chapter 6:

Miraz was angered for the fifth time this week which was almost a surprise. More killings on his soldiers and more weapons were being stolen. The killings and thefts have been going on more frequently since the bridge building over Beruna started. It was only delaying the bridge from being built. By now the bridge would have been more than halfway finished if it wasn't for this giant mystery. Although it wasn't that big of a mystery…everyone knew it had something to do with Narnians. Many of the Telmarines believed that the ghosts of the dead Narnians would haunt them when they were angry; therefore the myth of Narnian Ghosts that lived near the ruins of Cair Paravel came along. Most of the times when the "Narnian Ghosts" appeared to steal weapons, the quote "Long Live Aslan" would usually be engraved on one of the carts.

This time was no different. Miraz was quickly recruiting more workers for the bridge. He needed to find Caspian now. General Glozelle said nothing and just waited for orders not wanting to anger him. Lady Prunaprismia did the same thing. She didn't know that this was only the beginning of it all.

Meanwhile:

Prince Caspian finally left the little house where Trufflehunter the badger and Nikabrik the dwarf lived. After hearing the story of Queen Susan's horn, he felt even more compelled to face his uncle alone. He didn't want the last two monarchs of Narnia to fight his problems for him. He did feel sympathy for them being that they lost the other two important monarchs but that wasn't the problem right now.

The problem was that the badger and dwarf just wouldn't let him be. He told them to let him off on his own but they just kept refusing. Now they were just being pathetic, hiding behind the trees and all.

He finally got tired of ignoring them when more really loud crunching came from the plants. "I can hear you." He turned around to face them, both quickly hid behind the trees again but stopped when they realized he caught them.

Trufflehunter spoke first. "I just think we should wait for the king and queen." Caspian was tired of hearing that and just turned around and started walking again.

They were now mad at him. "Fine, go then. See if the others will be as understanding."

Nikabrik now had an even better excuse to follow. "Well maybe I'll come with you. I wanna see you explain things to the minotaurs."

Caspian now stopped. He wanted to know about the "mythical" creatures that he once read about. "Minotaurs? They're real?"

Trufflehunter confirmed it. "…And very bad tempered."

Nikabrik finished by trying to scare him. "Not to mention big."

Trufflehunter didn't make it any better. "HUGE."

Caspian was scared for a moment but shook it off and asked about something else. "What about centaurs? Do they still exist?"

What Trufflehunter said seemed to make him feel slightly better. "Well the centaurs will probably fight on your side but there's no telling what the others will do."

It took a while for Caspian to finally ask the big question. "What about Aslan?" The two Narnians looked at each other then turned to him, confused that he knew so much.

Nikabrik spoke. "How do you know so much about us?"

"Stories."

Now Trufflehunter was curious. "Wait a minute. Your father told you stories about Narnia?"

That obviously hit a sensitive nerve in Caspian because he grew slightly angry. "No, my professor. Listen I am sorry, these are not the kind of questions you should be asking." He started to walk ahead but stopped when Nikabrik started asking Trufflehunter what he was smelling.

Trufflehunter had his nose in the air, sniffing something. Nikabrik asked "What is it?"

Trufflehunter simply replied "Human."

"Him?" Nikabrik was referring to Caspian but Trufflehunter meant something else.

"No, them." He was referring to the Telmarine soldiers pointing crossbows at them. The three of them immediately turned and started running while dodging arrows. They heard Trufflehunter fall and they immediately knew he was hit.

Nikabrik turned and noticed first. "Oh no." He was about to get him but Caspian stopped him.

"Wait, I'll go." He quickly started running for Trufflehunter.

Trufflehunter lifted the horn for him take. "Take it, go. It's more important than I am." Caspian was so nervous that he was fumbling with the horn before he actually got it into his bag. After he finally got it in, he lifted Trufflehunter and started to run for Nikabrik.

He dropped off Trufflehunter near Nikabrik. "Get him out of here." Caspian turned and pulled out his sword. He didn't really need it being that he watched as the Telmarines who were closest to him were falling dead where they stood. When the last one closest to him fell, the soldiers farthest from him started reloading their crossbows but were soon surprised by a young man with a sword. The men he was fighting would be killed by his mastery at the sword. He would have kept watching but as soon as more Telmarines started to aim for him, he was immediately pushed to the ground, along with Nikabrik and Trufflehunter, by a little girl who didn't look any older than twelve.

She was wearing a Narnian dress and had a dagger and some bottle strapped to her waist. She spoke to the three of them in an accent much like the man and woman in his dream. "Please, stay down."

Caspian didn't want to disobey her which would risk the lives of all four of them. He also didn't want to look like a coward, allowing someone else fight the enemies after him so he got up and was about to run for the next Telmarine but saw that the last one was being handled by the same young man.

While Caspian was staring at the mini duel, something was creeping up on Caspian in the bushes. Before Caspian knew what hit him, he was on the ground once more with a mouse and a sword pointing right at him.

"Choose your last words carefully, Telmarine." The mouse was determined not to get off of him.

Caspian didn't know what to say except… "You are a mouse."

The mouse sighed heavily, being that this wasn't what he wanted to hear. "I was hoping for something a little more original." He was now pointing to Caspian's sword which was not far from his head. "Pick up your sword."

Caspian stared at his sword then back at the mouse. "Uh, no thanks."

The mouse was now madder. "Pick it up. I will not fight an unarmed man."

"Which is why I might live longer if I choose not to cross blades with you noble mouse."

"I said I would not fight you, I didn't say I'd let you live."

Trufflehunter finally intervened. "Reepicheep! Stay you blade!"

The mouse called Reepicheep was surprised to see him. "Trufflehunter? I trust you have a very good reason for this untimely interruption."

Nikabrik interrupted. "He doesn't, go ahead."

Trufflehunter responded anyway. "He's the one who blew the horn."

Reepicheep was shocked and whispered to mostly himself. "What?"

The young man who fought off the Telmarines helped up the little girl and stood in a proud way with his sword still out. "Then let him bring it forward, for he is the reason we stand before you."

Trufflehunter and Nikabrik didn't know who he was and was shocked that not only did they not know any other human besides the Telmarines but that Reepicheep obeyed him and got off Caspian and allowed Caspian to stand up and lift his sword. He lifted it up in front of him just as the man had, both ready to defend themselves.

It was just like Nikabrik to make a rude comment. "And who exactly are you two?"

Caspian was staring intently until he finally figured it out. "High King Peter."

Peter smiled and faced Caspian, finally lowering his sword. "I believe you called."

Caspian was still shocked at standing in front of an ancient monarch. "Yes but…I thought you'd be older."

Peter was slightly insulted by the comment. "Well if you like, we could come back in a few years." Caspian didn't know the High King was joking because Peter started to turn away and grab Lucy.

"No, it's alright. You're just, you're not exactly what I expected."

"Neither are you, so I guess we're even."

Trufflehunter looked at the Telmarine prince and the ancient Narnian King. "A common enemy unites even the oldest of foes."

Reepicheep turned to Caspian, Trufflehunter, and Nikabrik. "We have anxiously awaited their return. Our hearts and swords are at their service." Caspian saw that Peter and Lucy had already found their own small army of mice.

Peter spoke to Caspian and the other two Narnians. "At least we met somebody who can handle a blade."

Reepicheep added "Yes indeed, and we have recently put it to good use securing that our monarchs made it to safety." Lucy and Peter both smiled at him while Caspian looked away casually.

Caspian thought that they should all start moving again so he suggested taking the lead since he knew he would never be alone on this journey. Being that Caspian thought he knew the way to the Telmarines, Peter and Lucy allowed him to lead them to wherever he was going. Peter may not have trusted him completely but if his fellow Narnians trusted him then he might as well hold his pride a little bit longer.

Caspian was slightly nervous knowing that two of the ancient monarchs were watching his every move. Since they were his first allies, he needed to keep cool and respectable with them. He thought he knew where he was going but once he saw the beach that he lead them to and he saw their faces, he knew he did something wrong.

Before Peter had the chance to say anything rude, Lucy spoke for the both of them. "Caspian, I know you don't know the Narnian forests but we've kinda been here already." Caspian looked straight ahead to see the ruins of Cair Paravel and nodded. Peter retained himself from saying anything but the urge to insult him was painful. Lucy tried comforting Caspian. "It's alright. I'm sure we'll find our way back and we might even meet some Narnians while we're here." Caspian smiled at her with gratitude while all the other Narnians that came with them agreed with her, all except for Nikabrik of course.

Peter looked around as if he heard something they didn't. He asked them if they heard the something. "Did you hear that?"

Lucy was now confused but asked her brother what he meant. "What do you mean Peter?" Peter was looking at all of his surroundings and before answering Lucy's question, ran for an area close to the ocean. When he stopped and everyone caught up, he gasped and so did they.

This time Caspian was the first to reply. "Those are Telmarine soldiers." Caspian knew it immediately because of their uniforms but what interested Lucy and Peter most was that they were about to drown a Narnian dwarf. Caspian was the only one with a crossbow so he aimed at one of them while Peter yelled "Drop him!"

The two Telmarines did exactly as they were told and dropped the dwarf into the water. Caspian got his crossbow but didn't shoot. He hadn't killed his own people before and never knew the feeling of trying to kill his own subjects. He knew Peter had killed Telmarines and he knew that Peter has also killed other Narnians in the battle against the White Witch but he himself has never had to turn to death of his subjects. He didn't know if he could do it.

Peter immediately ran into the water to save the drowning dwarf. Lucy and the other Narnians tried to convince Caspian to shoot but he just couldn't command his hands to pull the trigger. Before the other Telmarines had a chance to aim for Caspian or Peter, the first Telmarine was shot and had fallen. He was already in the water dead so the other one was scared and started looking at the direction the arrow was shot at which was to the left of where Caspian and Lucy were standing in. The Telmarine was so scared that he just jumped into the water right after the first one.

Peter had taken the chance to grab the dwarf and take him back to land while Caspian went in the water to get the boat. Lucy took out her dagger and cut the rope tied around the dwarfs arms and legs. As soon as he was freed, he took off the gag wrapped around his mouth and spit out a large amount of water.

He started yelling at the three humans he saw first. "Drop him! That's the best you can come up with?"

Peter interjected. "A simple 'thank you' would suffice."

"They were doing fine drowning me without your help."

This time Caspian interrupted. "Maybe we should have let them."

The dwarf looked at him and backed away but did not seem frightened by Caspian's presence. "Are you here to finish what your bloody Telmarine friends didn't?" He was obviously referring to the drowning incident he just experienced.

Before things got worse, Trufflehunter quickly intervened after moving in front of the three humans. "Trumpkin! We thought you were dead."

Although Trumpkin was happy to see an old friend he was still mad at the Telmarines. "What are you doing with _them?"_ He saw Nikabrik and Reepicheep and the other mice come up behind Trufflehunter.

"They are friends. He is Prince Caspian, the one who blew the horn. And they are…"

Before Trufflehunter could finish his sentence, Trumpkin interrupted. "Oh you got to be kidding me. You're it? You're the King and Queen of Old?" He was referring to Lucy and Peter.

Peter took out his hand for Trumpkin to shake. "High King Peter…" Before he finished, Lucy nudged him trying to say "Leave off the last bit."

When Trumpkin didn't shake his hand, he pulled it back and said "I'd fight you to prove myself but whether or not you want to believe your friends is your problem. We on the other hand, are short on time. We need to find the other Narnians…one's who will actually help."

Trumpkin had no choice but to agree grudgingly. Caspian though had a question on his mind. "Do you know who killed those soldiers?"

Trumpkin was still grouchy. "Well it obviously wasn't you." Caspian felt uncomfortable but he saw that everyone else wanted to know as well. Trumpkin answered again. "Well it was probably the ghosts that live in these forests. I've been told all my life that these woods along the shore were as full of ghosts as they were of trees."

Trufflehunter, Nikabrik, Reepicheep, and the other mice didn't really care about the ghosts at the moment, being that they were just glad to have their friend back. Peter, Lucy, and Caspian decided to ignore the ghosts and hope to find away to the Narnians. What they didn't notice though, was that on the floating dead body of the Telmarine was a bright red arrow.

**I hope you liked this chapter. I'm sorry if it's taking forever to update. If I haven't said it before, I'll say it now…I'm sorta under punishment which means I have a limited amount of time to update. I am really sorry about that but I promise to get as much updating done as possible. Just a quick reference, the thing Trumpkin says about the ghost is actually on page 35 of the book "Prince Caspian" and I was really proud of myself for incorporating that in this chapter.**

**Please Review**

**-tin2lo**


	7. Chapter 7

**I'm really sorry I haven't been able to update in a while. Now that I'm allowed internet access, I'll try to update as much as I can. Again…sorry for any delays.**

As soon as introductions were set, the entire group used the boat and started off for the other Narnians, preferably Centaurs with their massive swords or loyal griffins. Luckily the only two large people in the boat were Caspian and Peter or they might not have all fit. It was just so lucky that all of the mice were able to fit. Caspian was steering the boat while Peter was rowing with Trumpkin in front to make sure they knew where they were all heading. Lucy was sightseeing while Trufflehunter tried to keep Nikabrik calm.

Lucy stared at the trees in a sad expression. "They're so still." Trufflehunter didn't want to tell her the story of the trees being that he didn't want her hurt so he just kept quiet and made sure Nikabrik didn't say anything hurtful.

Trumpkin was the one to respond after he stared at them himself. "They're trees, what'd you expect?"

"They used to dance." Lucy's expression was one of pure pain.

"Wasn't long after you left that the Telmarines invaded. Those who survived retreated to the woods. Last I heard your siblings went with them with no other choice but death. And the trees…they retreated so deep into themselves that they haven't been heard from since." Caspian and Peter fidgeted uncomfortably. They refused to look at each other knowing that some part of them had guilt. It was Caspian's descendants and Peter's mistake to leave that caused them all to be sitting in the position they were in now.

"I don't understand. How could Aslan have let this happen?"

"Aslan? Thought he abandoned us when you two did…"

Peter finally spoke up. "We didn't mean to leave, you know? Queen Susan and King Edmund chose to go back..." Peter sighed greatly, Caspian almost seeing the High King that was once him. "…and we should have followed."

"Makes no difference now, does it?" Trumpkin knew there was no reversing the past now.

Peter still spoke, Lucy put into complete silence. "Get us to the Narnians, and it will." Lucy went back to staring at things, mainly the water they were on while Caspian stared at only the two monarchs. He never really realized their pain and decided not to talk. Now was not the time to try and get on even ground with Peter. The last thing Caspian wanted to was to talk about his ancestors, the reason they were all fighting for their lives.

In the Telmarine Castle:

Professor Cornelius was walking back to his study with several scrolls in his hands. What he found was a shock was that the door to his study was opened and he never forgot to lock his study especially since there were so many Narnian stories within it. The Professor tried to keep a straight face even when he found out it was unfortunately Miraz inside waiting for him.

Miraz was reading something and finally turned to face the professor while tossing the book aside. "You have quite a library, doctor."

Cornelius didn't show fear just yet. "Is there anything particular that you seek, my lord?"

Miraz stood in front of the professor's desk. "I think I already found what I am looking for…in front of my soldiers." When he said that, he stabbed a long bright red arrow into a picture of the kings and queens of old to also emphasize his anger. Cornelius eyed it up and down with a small smirk hiding behind his beard.

Miraz continued talking. "What do you know of Queen Susan's horn or Queen Susan herself?" He put his feet on the table to get comfortable to Professor Cornelius' discomfort.

"It was said to be magic."

"Magic?"

"The Narnians believed that it could summon their kings and queens of old. At least, such was the superstition. As for the queen herself, it is said that she and her brother King Edmund fled to the woods with the Narnians who survived after their castle fell to the hands of the Telmarines. They say that their ghosts still haunt us today. But like I said, it was thought to be superstition."

"And what does Caspian know of this 'superstition'?" Miraz slowly started to move closer to the Professor.

"My lord, you forbad me from mentioning the old tales."

"So I did." General Glozelle had walked in under Miraz's earlier orders. Cornelius knew he was in trouble now.

He turned to face Miraz and told him the semi truth. "I will say this, if Caspian does know of the deep magic, my lord would have good a reason to be nervous." With that Glozelle's men took him to the dungeons. The general walked outside to see the soldiers escort the professor out when Lord Sopespian walked up to him.

"First our prince, now his tutor. If the members of Miraz's own house are not safe, are any of us?"

From the inside of the room Miraz called. "Lord Sopespian!"

General Glozelle didn't want to know or think of what he meant but before Lord Sopespian left he told him "Those are dangerous words, Lord Sopespian."

"But these are dangerous times, general. One should choose his words as carefully as he chooses his friends." The two of them walked back in the room to see Miraz.

Miraz asked Lord Sopespian "How long until the bridge is finished?"

"Construction continues on schedule."

"That's not good enough. I need my army across the river _now_."

"May I suggest you contribute some of your own men? I have only so many on my disposal."

"The fact you'd be wise to remember." Lord Sopespian was confused but Miraz spoke now to the General. "Go to Beruna. Take as many troops as you need. We must get to Caspian before they do."

Now Lord Sopespian looked really confused. "_They_, my lord?"

"It's time you learned your history." Miraz left Lord Sopespian to stare at the arrow.

In another part of Narnia:

Caspian, Peter, Lucy, and everyone else finally made it to shore. Trumpkin planted the anchor in the sand while Peter, Caspian, and everyone minus Lucy pulled the boat safely on the sand. Lucy walked around and tried exploring until she saw a bear on the other side of the area.

She tried to approach and talk to it. "Hello there." Everyone looked at her but she kept moving on. "It's alright. We're friends." The bear just looked at her.

Trumpkin tried to warn her not to keep moving, already knowing what the outcome was. "Don't move your majesty." Lucy looked at him then back at the now charging bear. She then turned back and tried running away but tripped.

Caspian got out his crossbow and yelled for the bear to stop. "Stay away from her!"

Nikabrik was yelling at Caspian to shoot the bear. "Shoot, Caspian shoot!"

Peter tried to yell at Caspian not to shoot the bear in case it was a talking bear. "No, don't!"

The bear was already on his hind legs and Lucy was on the ground but before it had the chance to attack her, the bear was shot dead. Lucy turned to see who shot it and saw that it wasn't Caspian, but behind him it was Trumpkin.

Everyone ran to where the bear was and Peter grabbed Lucy and took her into a one armed hug while still having his sword out. Peter was confused as to why the bear didn't stop when they told him to but Nikabrik in his bitter self told them that he was probably hungry. Lucy thanked Trumpkin while everyone else started to figure out that the bear was wild.

Trumpkin explained as to why that was while gutting the bear. "Get treated like a dumb animal long enough, that's what you become. You may find Narnia a more savage place then you remember."

Lucy could vaguely hear Reepicheep in the background speak to the other mice. "Narnians being treated as dumb animals. At least _us_ mice have learned to keep our sanity."

Nikabrik looked at him. "Oh shut up."

Peter looked around quickly before letting go of Lucy. He looked at Trufflehunter, then Nikabrik, then the mice, then to Caspian, and finally to Lucy. He knew where he needed to go to see the Narnians and he knew he needed to lead his people like he used to. He faced Trumpkin. "Leave him there. I know where to go."

Trumpkin still didn't have the greatest respects for Peter and doubted him severely. "I don't think allowing someone who's been gone for 1300 years lead us is such a good idea." Trumpkin was unfortunately outvoted and Peter started to leave but no one started to regret the decision until a few minutes into the walk.

Peter seemed like he knew where he was going and only Lucy was the one who made herself open to opinion being that Caspian could already feel the tension building between the two of them. Now was one of the times Lucy made herself heard. "I don't remember this way."

Peter decided to semi joke with her to lighten the mood and stared at the other companions. "That's the problem with girls, isn't it Caspian…can't carry a map in their heads."

Caspian smirked but Lucy rebutted. "That's because my head has something in it." Lucy now looked at Caspian and whispered. "I wish he'd just listen to the DLF in the first place."

Caspian was now confused. "DLF?"

Lucy smiled. "Dear Little Friend."

Trumpkin tried not to say much but couldn't really keep himself from not saying anything. "Oh that's not at all patronizing, is it?" All the other Narnians behind them smirked at Trumpkin.

Peter came to a tunnel with rocks and stared at all the directions and started to mumble to himself. "I'm not lost."

Trumpkin was already the one to counteract anything he had to say. "No. You're just going the wrong way."

"You last saw most of the Narnians at the Shuddering Woods and the quickest way there is to cross at the river rush."

"But unless I'm mistaken there's no crossing in these parts."

"That explains it then. You're mistaken." After that little argument, they headed on ward to where Peter said to go.

Lucy was now getting worried about Peter's attitude and by looking at Caspian's, Trufflehunter's, and Reepicheep's faces, they were getting a tiny bit worried too but no one dared to say anything.

While they were walking, they ended up near the edge of a cliff where the river rush looked different in location. Peter silently thanked Aslan that Susan wasn't there to pester him about why he was wrong. Caspian looked at Trumpkin and asked. "Is there a way down?"

"Yeah, falling."

Peter looked at Trumpkin also. "Well we weren't lost."

"There's a fort near Beruna. How'd you feel about swimming?"

Nikabrik spoke now. "Rather that than walking."

Lucy looked at the other side of the gorge before following the others. "Aslan? It's Aslan! It's Aslan over there!" She turned to face everyone a pointed to where she saw him but when she turned back, he was no longer there.

Nikabrik was about to say something but Trufflehunter reprimanded him. Instead, Trumpkin spoke. "Do you see him now?"

Lucy looked at all of them. "I'm not crazy. He was there. He wanted us to follow him."

Caspian now spoke. "I'm sure there are any number of lions in this wood, just like that bear."

Lucy was a little mad now. "I think I know Aslan when I see him."

Nikabrik didn't want to do anything at the moment that could end his life right there. "Look, I'm not about to jump off a cliff after someone who doesn't exist."

Trufflehunter tried to back up Lucy. "I remember the old tales and the last time King Edmund didn't believe Queen Lucy, he ended up not looking too well."

Peter looked at Lucy again. "Why wouldn't I have seen him?"

Lucy really looked at Peter now. "Maybe you weren't _looking._"

Peter thought for a second then spoke again. "I'm sorry, Lu." He walked away and everyone else followed behind. Lucy took one more glance at the ledge where Aslan stood and then turned back to see Caspian waiting for her to go ahead. He nodded for her to keep moving on and she just went with him trailing behind.

After a few more minutes of walking, they saw something in between the trees. The leaves were lifting off the ground and were forming the shape of a man but before it could stay that way for long, the poor dryad screamed in agony and exploded into several separate dead leaves. Peter and Caspian could hear construction noise in the distance and kept moving forward while everyone else followed. Lucy looked first at the area the dryad just died in.

Once they got to the fort near Beruna, they saw exactly what was making the noise. The group stayed behind logs that were piled on top of each other and made sure not to be seen by the Telmarines working on a bridge over the river. It wasn't just the bridge being built but also war machines. Caspian told everyone to duck low when he saw his uncle ride by on a horse.

Caspian looked at Peter who was ducking right next to him. "Perhaps this wasn't the best way to come after all."

Peter knew he was right and looked at him. "Did you know they were building a bridge over Beruna?"

"No, I haven't seen this until now." Both Peter and Caspian and everyone else looked again. They were just about to leave until…

A flaming arrow was launched and had landed on one of the wooden war machines. More flaming arrows followed it until it had completely burned it down. The workers all looked panicked but pulled themselves together and grabbed whatever weapons they could use. In a split second, several Narnian troops came rushing out and killing the workers and soldiers. Peter could tell they were Narnian even before he saw their bodies because they were wearing the soldier's uniforms from Cair Paravel.

Everyone just stared shocked at the battle in front of them but made no effort to move. Caspian saw his uncle looking around in horror and instead of doing anything, fled the premises with Glozelle and Sopespian trailing behind him. Before Caspian could continue staring at where his uncle was heading, a horse and its rider stopped about five feet in front of the logs of which they were hiding behind. A woman wearing a velvet cape that covered her head and face jumped off the horse and pulled out a bow and arrow. Because her hair and facial features were covered by the cape, the only way to tell that she was a woman was the fact that she was the only one there wearing a dress.

Soon another horse stopped next to her and this time a man wearing a different colored cape jumped off and landed next to her. The man and woman were about the same height which Peter figured out was a little shorter than himself. He also heard part of their conversation, being that they were close enough to hear. She was speaking in ancient Narnian to the man but luckily Peter was able to translate what she said. She told the man to grab as many swords and weapons and to get the Narnians out of there.

The man nodded and took out two of his swords and started fighting. The woman started shooting arrows and hit the target perfect every time. They were both amazing fighters and Reepicheep really wanted his mice to charge in to help but were held back by the dwarves and the badger. Trumpkin was staring at the woman whose archery was better than his while Nikabrik was slightly happy to see more Narnians.

The man along with other Narnians grabbed as many swords, shield, and crossbows as they could and made them run back to where they came from. Caspian saw the woman was being surrounded by several men advancing on her and without thinking, he notched an arrow and shot at one of the men drawing near her. Before the other men advancing on her could recover, the hooded man threw her one of the stolen swords and she put away her bow. She was equally impressive with the sword just as much as she was with the bow. When she finished killing off all of the men closest to her, she threw the sword back at one of the Narnians to carry it back.

There were still workers and soldiers around but the woman told all of her troops that it was time to leave with what they had. The man was already on his horse and held a horse for her. He and the horses were galloping fast but the woman caught hold of it, kicked a Telmarine over, jumped onto the horse quite easily, and kept riding on. Peter watched and was amazed by what she did. It was very impressive, especially for someone in a dress. By looking at everyone else's faces, he could tell that they were equally amazed. He made a mental note to try that in battle one time.

He saw that even though the Narnian leaders had left, some of their troops stayed behind to kill the remaining Telmarines. They were doing it pretty fast and both Peter and Caspian knew that if they stayed long enough to be discovered, they wouldn't be spared long enough to tell their story especially with Caspian as a Telmarine in their group. Caspian led the way back to the gorge while the other Narnians, Peter, and Lucy followed.

As much as they wanted to follow the Narnians, they knew it wasn't the safest route. Peter allowed Lucy to tell of her image of Aslan but the memory of what just happened was still burned into their minds.

**I hope you liked this chapter. Again, I'm really sorry about the delays. I'll try to update soon. Just to get you thinking…what do you think will happen once they cross that gorge? Especially after these events.**

**Review please.**

**-tin2lo**


	8. Chapter 8

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed. I'm very proud of this fanfic and the reviews it's getting. So I guess you can say things are starting to get somewhere (finally) in this chapter. Since this chapter is so special, I actually found songs to match it (at least in my head it seemed to fit fine).**

_Even the best fall down sometimes  
Even the stars refuse to shine  
Out of the back you fall in time  
I somehow find, you and I Collide_

_Don't stop here  
I lost my place  
I'm close behind_

_Even the best fall down sometimes  
Even the wrong words seem to rhyme  
Out of the doubt that fills your mind  
You finally find, you and I Collide_

-Second chorus, bridge, and final chorus of "Collide" by Howie Day

"So where exactly do you think you saw Aslan?" Lucy was still looking over at the other side of the gorge where she once claimed seeing Aslan. She was starting to get mad that Peter still only slightly believed her.

"I wish you'd all stop trying to sound like grownups. I don't think I saw him, I did see him."

Trumpkin whispered to her for all of them. "We _are_ grownups." Nikabrik rolled his eyes while Trufflehunter nudged him to keep him from being insulting. Caspian snickered and smiled while the mice tried to be role models and said nothing.

Lucy walked to the edge of the cliff to where she said she saw him. "It was right over…" Before she could finish her sentence, she let out a loud scream when the ground beneath her feet caved in on her. Peter screamed out her name and everyone went to the edge to see where she had landed. She didn't go too far from where she stood and she was perfectly unharmed after landing on a ledge a few feet lower than where she just stood. "…here."

The fact that Lucy landed safely was an omen to continue down the hill and over the river. Crossing it was easier than expected but Lucy almost tripped on one rock but was caught safely but Trumpkin. Peter and Caspian had Trufflehunter and Nikabrik in between them in case they had the urge to push each other in the water and some of the mice who weren't walking were given permission to sit on the shoulders of the royals.

When Nikabrik nearly fell into the water like Lucy, he started complaining about not following the other Narnians. Trufflehunter explained (again) that if the other Narnians saw them, they'd think that they were traiters for being near Caspian and no doubt kill everyone in the group starting with Caspian. This only made Nikabrik more mad and muttered more but he knew it was worth it if this "hallucination" of Aslan would lead them to people who would actually believe them.

By the time they finally got across the gorge, it was dark and everyone decided that after the collecting of firewood, they would go to bed. Peter checked and rechecked the surroundings six times (by Lucy's count) with Reepicheep. Trufflehunter started making soup with whatever he could find while Caspian searched for firewood with the dwarves. After everything that happened that day, no one decided to endure conversation so people just went to sleep at random times.

Peter slept like the dead and did not wake when a small conversation between a small queen and young prince were happening. Caspian had checked to make sure Lucy was awake before starting the conversation.

"Why do you think I didn't see Aslan?"

Lucy got up onto her elbows and looked at the Telmarine prince. "You believe me?"

"Well we got across the gorge."

Lucy got to thinking of an answer without hurting his feelings too much. "I don't know. Maybe you didn't really want to…maybe also because you don't really know him." They didn't know that Trumpkin was also awake and inquiring all the things they were saying.

"Somehow I feel I already know him, even though I'm of Telmarine blood. I feel as though he was the one to compel me to blow the horn and not of fear of losing my life." Caspian looked at Lucy. "Are you happy to be here?"

"I'd hoped we'd come back, even if Peter started losing hope. I think he finally just got used to the idea of living in England."

"But he's happy to be here isn't he?"

"I'm not sure. While it lasts I guess." With that both royals tried falling asleep.

A few hours later, sunshine was glowing on Lucy and she woke up after hearing noises that could have come from a lion along with what sounded like her name. She looked around at the sleeping group and back to the area of where the noise could have come from. She decided to follow it. She ended up in a beautiful area that reminded her of the innocence of her life in the Golden Age.

As she walked, a dryad and its petal body danced and floated around her while she did nothing but walk and smile. The dryad stopped in front of her and smiled. When Lucy turned around, the trees started to part and create a pathway for her to walk. On one side of the trees, she could see a female's shadow spinning, dancing, and running in between the trees. On the other side of the pathway, a male shadow was doing the same thing. They were both running and laughing and moving to the same direction which is where the pathway was leading Lucy so she did nothing but follow.

As she kept moving, she could vaguely here her name being called by a familiar voice. When she got to the end of the pathway, she saw that the shadowed figures disappeared but she saw Aslan in the flesh and immediately ran to him after calling his name. She nuzzled her face into his face and manewhile saying "I've missed you so much."

When she finally took her face out of Aslan's mane, she took a good look at him. "You've grown."

Aslan was smiling and chuckling. "Every year you grow, so shall I."

She started asking questions. "Where've you been? Why haven't you come to help us?"

His expression was sad but he replied. "Things never happen the same way twice, dear one."

Lucy asked one more question. "Where are Susan and Edmund?" Before she could get an answer out of Aslan, something loud snapped and Lucy woke up from what she sadly found was only a dream. She tried to wake up Caspian but he slept like the dead as well as Trumpkin in the group whom she also tried to wake up. She decided to let them sleep and got up to explore where the snapping noises had come from.

She came to an area with several trees. She went to one tree and muttered "Wake up" with hopes that it might actually wake up but didn't. She kept wondering around until she saw what looked like Aslan. She yelled "Aslan?" but was quickly pulled down by a hand over her mouth and waist. Peter had grabbed her and quietly showed her a Minotaur passing by. Both of them ducked back behind the push Peter had pulled her in and he told her to stay quiet. She forgot that they didn't know whether Minotaurs were good or bad especially being that at the bridge raid there were no minotaurs, only centaurs and fauns.

Both Lucy and Peter inquired that they were bad so Peter slowly got up and was ready to attack the minotaur until someone attacked him first. Peter was fast but so was his attacker who was slightly shorter than himself. The two were both good and neither one could get the other to fall. Peter was able to hit the man in the face with his sword hilt enough for his lip to bleed but the rest of his face was covered by his whitish silver cape. Peter was also able to get the sword of his attacker out of his hands but when he tried to slice him with Rhindon, the attacker ducked and kicked Peter to the ground when Peter swung and lodged Rhindon into a tree.

While Peter tried grabbing a rock to hit the attacker with and the attacker was trying to get Rhindon out of the tree, Lucy yelled "Stop!" loud enough for everyone to hear. Peter stayed on the ground where he landed but put the rock down. He was slowly inching for his attacker's sword while the actual attacker was finally got Peter's sword out of the tree.

When the hooded attacker finally got Rhindon out of the tree, Caspian came with his sword pointed at the man's back. No one moved from their positions. Caspian was about to strike Peter's attacker but the attacker turned and blocked Caspian with Rhindon. Before this fight could get anywhere, Peter pulled the man by his hooded cape, nearly choking him, and pulled him to the ground where Peter lay only moments before.

Peter grabbed Rhindon again while both he and Caspian pointed their swords at the attacker. They were both about to strike him when Lucy, who was currently being restrained by the dwarves, yelled "Stop!" again.

The High King and the Telmarine Prince looked around to see several Narnians in either regular Narnian clothes (which most of them were wearing) or Golden age soldiers' uniforms (which about five of them were wearing). They were surrounded by them and Caspian looked at Peter in confusion while Peter returned the glance.

Caspian kept his sword pointed at the hooded attacker while Peter slowly leaned over to the heavily breathing man and pulled his whitish silver hood away from his face. Peter gasped and stepped back from the man only making Caspian more confused. The man quickly got up and grabbed his sword and he along with the other Narnians pointed their swords at Caspian and Peter.

Before the man could attack again, Peter finally spoke. "Edmund?"

Peter, after seeing the sun shine brightly on his brother and the Narnians, came to terms that this was not his imagination playing but it was the truth. He was standing in front of King Edmund the Just but not in the body he last saw. This was not the little boy who was seduced by the White Witch or the man Peter last saw rush for Cair Paravel with his sister but he, without a doubt, knew that he was standing face to face with his little brother.

_I was waiting for so long; For a miracle to come  
Everyone told me to be strong; Hold on and don't shed a tear  
Through the darkness and good times; I knew I'd make it through  
And the world thought I had it all; But I was waiting for you_

_Hush now, I see a light in the sky  
Oh it's almost blinding me  
I can't believe I've been touched by an angel with love  
Let the rain come down and wash away my tears  
Let it fill my soul and drown my fears  
Let it shatter the walls, for a new sun  
A New Day Has…Come_

-First verse and chorus of "A New Day Has Come" by Celine Dion

**Sorry for a long delay but I now have plenty of time to update but with that free time comes laziness and I'm sorry that my laziness has affected my fans of this fanfiction. Don't tell me you people haven't suffered from laziness? Then I guess you can't really call yourself people if you never have. No offense or anything. I hoped you like the chapter anyway. I'm finally getting somewhere. Oh and FYI, all the characters basically look the same as in the Prince Caspian movie. I'll explain why Edmund would look the same as in the movie in the next chapter.**

**Reviews are nice.**

**-tin2lo**


	9. Chapter 9

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed. I got a lot of reviews and it felt so good to get. Here is a quick explanation on a few things…please don't be mad at me for it.**

**As you all know, in the story it has only been a year for Peter and Lucy so here are the ages of the royals. Caspian- 18 Peter- 18 Lucy- 13 Edmund- 15 (in appearance) Susan- 17 (in appearance)**

**That's basically how they looked in the movies so I guess you can say that Peter and Lucy were 17 and 12 during the "Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe." I only wrote the ages for the confused…other questions just review or PM me. It's hard to get the ages right being that there's a three year difference between the LWW and Prince Caspian movies, so bear with me.**

_Walking like a one man army  
Fighting with the shadows in your head  
Living out the same old moment  
Knowing you'd be better off instead  
If you could only…_

_Say what you need to Say; Say what you need to Say  
Say what you need to Say; Say what you need to Say  
Say what you need to Say; Say what you need to Say  
Say what you need to Say; Say what you need to Say_

-Second Verse and Chorus of "Say" by John Mayer

Chapter 9:

After Peter said Edmund's name, Edmund looked at them confused for a second but pulled himself together and was about to strike at Peter and Caspian.

Peter yelled. "Wait!" Before Edmund could kill him, he put Rhindon on the ground and told Caspian to do the same thing. Caspian whispered back "Are you crazy?" but he obeyed none the less. Edmund slightly lowered his weapon but before any of them could do anything, he asked in ancient Narnian "Who are you and how do you know me?"

Edmund's group was ready to kill them for using his name so informally but he restrained them without having to lift a finger. His stare held it all. Now his group was getting antsy and wanted to kill the people and move on but Edmund warned them in ancient Narnian to not do anything unless instructed. Edmund was now waiting for Peter's response.

Caspian gasped, finally realizing who this teenage boy was and stayed quiet allowing Peter to sort out the situation. Peter looked hard at his brother and said in English "I know you, just as you know me. I know it's been a while but I promise, Ed, you know just who I am."

Peter started to slowly inch towards his brother seeing that Edmund lowered his sword and was slowly realizing everything. Edmund closed his eyes and put his free hand on his head as if he had a headache. He looked back at Peter and Caspian and gently whispered "Peter?"

With that Lucy immediately ran and embraced Edmund by the waist just like she did when he came back from the Witch's camp. He embraced her with a slightly confused expression and put her at arm's length and said "Lu?"

Before anything else could happen, one of the minotaurs pulled Edmund back and pointed his axe like sword at Lucy, Peter, and Caspian. He was there to protect and serve Edmund even if it was against a little girl. Lucy let out a small squeal from being pointed at by a minotaur's sword but also at the abrupt feeling of Edmund being pulled away from her.

Edmund quickly got between them and yelled in ancient Narnian that they were the missing king and queen of old. All of the Narnians gasped and took a step back but did nothing. Edmund looked back at his "missing" siblings.

Caspian spoke. "King Edmund the Just?"

Edmund smiled and nodded and pointed at Caspian. "Prince Caspian the tenth? Nice to see you, even though the circumstances aren't. You have my thanks for blowing my sister's horn and returning my siblings. But I know I'm not exactly what you expected." All the Narnians gasped in hearing that the prophecy about the horn was true. Edmund turned to them and told them that they were in fact face to face with High King Peter and Queen Lucy. The Narnians all bowed in respect.

Peter put a hand on his brother's shoulder. "I thought you'd be dead by now. What about Susan? Is she still alive?"

"How about I answer questions on the way to our hideout? That way whatever I forget to mention, Susan will explain, and yes she is still very much alive. How about you introduce me to _your_ Narnian friends while I introduce you to mine?"

Introductions to everyone in the group were given but so far no explanations. With all the people in Edmund's group it was amazing he was able to say all of their names without hesitating during the introductions. Bonus points for being able to do that with the fact that Edmund hadn't met the Narnians in his group until a few hours before reuniting with Peter and his group. Caspian could tell that Edmund has had years of experience.

All the royals stood in the front while Edmund lead. After a few minutes, Edmund had asked Peter about life in England. Peter responded with a simple word "Different."

Edmund waited a few moments before Peter responded again but he was soon rewarded with Peter's explanation. "Filling the void you and Su left isn't as easy as it looks. If Lucy hadn't repeated "we'll see them soon" over and over, I may never have believed in seeing you again."

Edmund only nodded. He said nothing to make Peter feel more uncomfortable but he stood in between Peter and Lucy and gave them both a one armed hug in which neither had the choice of smiling in. Caspian looked on in awe and stayed silent to allow the royals to get "reacquainted" being that he felt a sense of sympathy towards them both. Edmund noticed Caspian smile at the three of them and realized he had some questions of his own.

Edmund now addressed Caspian. "Susan and I have been trying to figure out through the years, what's been going on in the minds of the Telmarines. What exactly do they think of Narnians besides the fact that they might be extinct?"

Caspian was a little surprised being that speaking to someone he thought dead for so long was surreal but he answered the question anyway. "Very few people know the story behind the extinction of Narnians. Some people have even forgotten that this land was once populated by them. Those who do know of the legends also know that only two of the four monarchs went back to that world of 'Spare Oom' and 'War Drobe' and the other two just died here along with their people. They also believe that the two remaining monarchs and their dead people still haunt them today as ghosts. At least, that's what the past Telmarine kings have been telling their people. To stop the people from worrying, they passed it all off as just ghosts who haunt the ruined castle. That's why no one goes there or the woods to this day." Everyone was intently listening to Caspian's explanation of the Telmarine people while keeping a steady stride to the location of which Edmund was leading them to.

Caspian looked at Edmund again. "I've believed those stories all throughout my life when my professor told them. But I'd like to hear the truth behind it from someone who was witness throughout the entire ordeal…if it is not too much to ask."

There were murmurs of agreement including that from Peter and Lucy. Edmund shrugged. "You were going to ask sooner or later, might as well tell you now." Edmund took a deep breath then looked at his brother and sister. They nodded for him to continue. "Where to start..?" He was murmuring mostly to himself.

He looked back at Caspian and at the Narnians. He took a deep breath and started explaining. "If you heard the stories right, Susan and I did return to the castle not knowing Peter and Lucy went back to the other world. When we got there, what we never wanted to happen happened. Not all the details passed down for generations are correct. I think the Telmarines believe the battle for the castle only lasted an hour at most but that wasn't true. It was the longest battle we ever had to endure."

Flashback:

_Queen Susan and her archers left the towers and went to the ground floors inside the castle. Some Telmarine soldiers managed to get into the castle without opening the gates so Susan had her army fight the ones inside. King Edmund was outside the castle and was fighting the soldiers who had already brought out the war machines. The head leaders of each race were fighting with King Edmund, the head Minotaur, dwarf, centaur, and faun. General Oreius was fighting in the surroundings to protect the people living around the Cair._

_King Edmund looked at the war machines that were destroying parts of his castle. He turned to the Minotaur. "Find a way to destroy those machines. We can't let them hurt the people inside the Cair, including Queen Susan." The Minotaur nodded and quickly ran off with a giant to destroy the machines. The faun and the dwarf were ordered to reenter the castle to make sure that there were enough soldiers inside to defend against the invading Telmarines. The centaur stayed outside with King Edmund. The faun and dwarf used a griffin to enter the castle without opening the gates._

_By the time they entered the castle and landed, Queen Susan and some other soldiers had just finished fighting off some of the soldiers in one area. Queen Susan looked around and found that there were too many soldiers approaching at a fast pace. She looked at the three of the Narnians who just arrived and got on the griffin. She now addressed the faun and dwarf. "I'm going up to the ballista to destroy the incoming Telmarine fleets. Stay here and make sure none follow." They bowed to her and did as they were told._

_The griffin flew her to one area that had a ballista and shot down one ship. She then flew to another area and did the same. Before she could go to another area to shoot the last ship close enough to be shot, King Edmund flew in on another griffin with the Head Minotaur. King Edmund looked at the damage she had just done then back at his sister. "Nice." She smiled and said "Thanks."_

_She looked back at the top ballista. "Come. There is still one more ship close enough to sink." She, King Edmund, and the Head Minotaur flew to the top and shot the last of the closest ships. After they had sunk the ship the three of them flew back to the ground level to reunite with the dwarf, centaur, and faun. All of them continued fighting the soldiers that were in the castle. When the Telmarines at ground level were killed, the Minotaur noticed that most of the soldiers were entering through the higher levels using grappling hooks._

_King Edmund and Queen Susan noticed it too and were about to head for that area until a pillar was knocked down almost landing on them. It almost killed them if the Minotaur and Centaur hadn't pulled them away in time. Both royals were now mad and just wanted this to end especially now that the castle was almost in ruins and their soldiers were dying while the Telmarines were still coming. For the sake of the griffins, the group ran up to the upper levels rather than flying while narrowly avoiding the soldiers coming for them._

_Once they were at the upper levels, they knew they couldn't fight all of the soldiers coming. That was when Queen Susan made the decision to have everyone take refuge in the woods._

Almost everyone stopped breathing while Edmund told the story. Caspian was amazed and curious while Peter looked more grave than proud at his siblings. Edmund spoke again after a small silence. "Susan did what she had to do and I supported her when she had all of us take refuge. It wasn't easy on either of us but when we knew you weren't coming back, well we had no other choice but to stay and die. To head for the woods was a choice, not an ultimatum."

Caspian now had a question. "If you fought them as adults, how is it that you are no longer that way?" Everyone had temporarily forgotten about that little detail and started whispering and murmuring amongst one another.

Edmund slightly shivered at the memory:

Flashback:

_When Queen Susan issued the order to evacuate Cair Paravel to the woods, the Head Minotaur and Centaur quickly rushed to warn General Oreius and all the other Narnian soldiers. The griffins took to the skies to warn the people surrounding the Cair and throughout the rest of the country so that no one else would be caught in the killings._

_The faun and dwarf rushed to Queen Susan. "My lady, I know that you will refuse but we highly recommend that you and your brother join them." Queen Susan refused at first but agreed and so did her brother. The Narnians needed them._

_The two royals quickly met up with Mr. Tumnus who had been taking most of the monarch's treasures into the secret treasure chamber along with others who were helping. Most of the highly sentimental items were locked away in their owner's chests but when they met up with Mr. Tumnus and his group, they weren't quite finished. So far they finished King Peter's and Queen Lucy's but had not done either of King Edmund's and Queen Susan's. The only things he was able to put there were jewels and some of their journals and paperwork._

_Queen Susan quickly warned Mr. Tumnus. "Quickly Mr. Tumnus! We need to evacuate to the woods. We must collect food and materials."_

"_Yes, your majesty. I'll start finding as much food as I can in whatever's left of the royal kitchens. I wasn't able to collect your clothing for the secret chests so you and your brother should go to your rooms and collect what you can before we go. Mr. and Mrs. Beaver will go with you." Both King Edmund and Queen Susan nodded. They along with the beavers rushed for their quarters but halfway there Susan bent over and yelled in pain. The consistent tugging which she had ignored for a while came back in a gash of pain._

_Edmund was worrying. "Susan, are you alright?"_

_Susan nodded. "I'll be alright. Come on, Ed. We need to hurry." Edmund rushed for his quarters on the west side with Mr. Beaver while Susan rushed for hers in the southern side with Mrs. Beaver. Once he got there, he too bent over in pain. Mr. Beaver quickly rushed to his side but Edmund had keeled over and collapsed. He was screaming in pain but when he stopped, he stood up and tried to maintain his balance._

_Mr. Beaver looked at him and gasped. The Just King just looked at him confused and stared at his full length mirror and gasped himself. He was no longer an adult king but the boy who stumbled into Narnia intending to scare his little sister. He nearly screamed but instead turned to Mr. Beaver. "What just happened?"_

_Mr. Beaver just looked at him confused. "Honestly, now's not the time to be worrying about that. I suggest putting on clothes that will actually fit and bring your clothes from when you were younger along with your bigger adult clothes in case the change happens again." Edmund just nodded and did as he was told. He got dressed and looked just as he did when he first trained in the Narnian army about fifteen years ago. He grabbed all of his clothes throughout the years and whatever else he could fit in his bags and quickly left to look for the girls._

_Queen Susan and Mrs. Beaver met them halfway and Susan looked exactly like she did fifteen years ago in her forest green dress, long brown hair (which because of limited time was completely down which made it look longer than when it was put up fifteen years ago) , and brown belt. Before he had the chance to ask, she interrupted him. "I think I know what happened. I'll explain later, let's just go." Mr. Tumnus also made his appearance and Susan told him the same thing. They may have been fifteen years younger but they were still royalty that should be obeyed. Edmund and Susan had their weapons and clothing while Mr. Tumnus and the Beavers held the food._

_Outside, they met up with the heads Minotaur, Centaur, Faun, and dwarf along with General Oreius. They looked at their rulers but the expression on their monarch's faces said it all "we'll explain later." The group of ten was quickly rushing for the forest as the castle was being invaded and destroyed. Susan had forgotten something and quickly remembered. "Mr. Tumnus, I think I left my horn in the chest next to my throne."_

_Edmund and Oreius pushed her to keep moving though she tried to head back. "Now's not the time sister."_

"_Ed, if they find it they'll destroy it. I need to go back for it."_

_The group that fought so loyally quickly volunteered to retrieve it. The Minotaur spoke for the four of them. "We'll go your majesty. We'll ensure that it is safe from those demons. It is an honor."_

_She looked at them. "No, you all have fought so well. You don't deserve to die now."_

_The centaur interrupted her. "Please, your majesty. It is an honor for all of us." Before Susan could say anything else, the four of them rushed back for the castle. She quickly yelled after them. "May Aslan forever watch over you all."_

_And with that, Queen Susan, King Edmund, and all of their people were able to make it out alive and her horn was safe though it would not be found by another Narnian until centuries later._

"And that's basically what happened." Edmund had finished telling them the story. "We changed back because Peter and Lucy had gone through the wardrobe and changed back. The deep magic may have changed all four of us back but there were also other things that happened. In England, a year has gone by. Here, 1300 years have gone by. We managed to stay alive because the deep magic that changed us back, made us age in English time though we live in Narnia while the Narnians aged in Narnian time. That was mainly because Peter and Lucy were back in England and aging in English time." He stopped and took a breath. "It's not easy to watch our friends die of old age. Most of them can live up to a hundred years or more, but never centuries." Caspian nodded. He didn't realize how much of that story was taken out. He was just glad that he knew parts of the story unlike Peter and Lucy who were saddened just to hear it once. Caspian quickly remembered his dream that he had the night he fled the castle and decided to voice it out to Edmund.

"I had a dream on the night I left Miraz's castle. I was standing in the forest watching as the Narnians were listening to a speech delivered by a man and a woman. Both were wearing dark capes and holding weapons. Was that you?"

Edmund thought for a while then remembered. "How did you know about that?" He looked at Caspian in confusion along with Peter and Lucy. "That was the first day we were in the forest and the Telmarines had finally stopped fighting. I gave a speech to lift their hopes and Susan told me that there was a Telmarine in our midst but before the Narnians could kill him, he was gone. I'm guessing that was you?"

Caspian nodded. That was exactly what happened during his dream. Both Edmund and Caspian looked at each other in confusion, not really knowing how that was possible until Peter interrupted. "You dreamed about my siblings and you didn't tell us until now?"

Caspian looked at a slightly enraged Peter. He was about to get mad himself but instead spoke through gritted teeth. "At the time, I didn't know who they were. It was irrelevant being that I don't go around telling people I just met my dreams." Peter looked away and decided on not speaking unless completely important. He was still a little mad at Caspian while Caspian felt the same towards him. Luckily Edmund stood in the middle of them. Caspian decided to turn his attention back to King Edmund.

Trufflehunter now had a question. "Excuse me, sire but we were in Beruna where there was bridge building occurring until other Narnians came and destroyed everything. Was that also you?"

Edmund smiled at the memory. He loved fighting the Telmarines when they were at their weakest. "Yeah that was us. Over the years Susan and I have established a system. The place that we have been living in only housed us and those who are descendents of the soldiers and servants of Cair Paravel. The descendents of the regular Narnian people who lived outside of the castle live in other areas of the woods. Susan taught the servant descendents who didn't want to fight how to use herbs and plants to create healing pastes since we didn't have Lucy's cordial. Those who were descendents of the brave Cair Paravel soldiers are with me. We travel through the woods to find other Narnians and gather them to create a larger army. We take them back to our hiding area where Susan and I can train them or teach them in healing. We need both types and not everyone wants to fight though most do. And mind you, Susan can fight with a sword just as good as she is with her bow."

Edmund slightly chuckled but showed pride in his sister. He continued speaking. "We also take the Narnian soldiers to terrorize the Telmarines when they are at their weakest. When we feel like showing them the mercy they didn't show us, we go in the dead of night to steal their weapons, which is what we've been doing steadily for the past few hundred years. Lately, we've been looking for more people for our army and have been killing Telmarine soldiers and workers near Beruana, along with stealing their weapons. It shows our anger and aggression and to show that the legends about us are real. When we go to steal the weapons or kill the Telmarines, Susan and I wear our dark capes to keep our identities secret and to blend in with the night. When I go out to find more soldiers while Susan is training others, I wear my whitish silver cape that I wore during my coronation so that people will believe that I really am King Edmund the Just. Sometimes it's Susan who goes while I train and she wears her cape from the coronation. We were just lucky enough to save it from our rooms before leaving the castle. When we go to recruit more people, we take some soldiers who are descendents from the Cair Paravel soldiers so that they can vouch for us being that their ancestors have passed the stories down for generations. That's basically how all of us met. You guys were wondering while I was recruiting, basically."

Edmund stopped for a second and looked at one of his centaurs. "Peter, Lucy, Caspian…this is Glenstorm. He is a direct descendent from our dear friend General Oreius. He is our most trusted Narnian friend." Glenstorm nodded and smiled at all of them and thanked Edmund for the more formal introduction. Edmund saw on Reepicheep's face that he was a little disappointed for not being part of the army sooner.

Edmund looked at the Narnian mice. "Sir Reepicheep, I want to thank you for keeping my people safe all around the woods. You and your army. I'm guessing that the reason I haven't recruited you sooner was because you all travel to protect the people and kill the Telmarines. Am I right?"

Reepicheep and his mice friends smiled. "Yes, yes my liege. We have done nothing but fought in the name of Aslan." All the mice bowed to Edmund. Lucy smiled and held back a laugh.

Edmund had stopped when he saw the giant mountain. He now addressed everyone. "That, my friends, is Aslan's How." Everyone looked at it confused.

Glenstorm now spoke. "It is our secret hiding place. When we found it, only the mice knew of its existence."

Edmund now spoke again. He first looked at Lucy. "I'm sure you'll recognize it once we go inside but before we do…if you look to your left, you'll see someone very special."

Everyone did as he said and looked to the left. There was a group of archers on aiming at a row of stuffed Telmarine armor to pose as targets. They heard yelling from where they were at. Peter, Lucy, and Caspian all gasped to see Queen Susan the Gentle as beautiful as before in her purple gray Narnian dress holding her bow and arrow "I want accuracy and precision. Ready! Take Aim! Fire!" All of the archers shot and landed right in the center of the dummies.

All of the Narnians clapped while Edmund and Glenstorm did nothing. Susan turned to where the clapping noises were coming from and first saw her younger brother. She waved and smiled at Edmund while he returned it. When she looked at the people he brought back, she gasped. She never thought she'd see the day when she saw her other siblings again. The second she saw them, she dropped her quiver of arrows and her bow and gasped. Aslan had answered part of her prayers.

_If they wanna rock they rock  
If they wanna roll they roll  
They can roll with the punches  
Long as they feel like they're in control  
If they wanna stay they stay  
If they wanna go they go  
They don't care how they get there  
Long as they get somewhere they know_

-Third Chorus of "Rock and Roll" by Eric Hutchinson (Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 soundtrack)

**I hope you liked this chapter and are no longer confused (if you ever were). This was for my explanations and to put more detail in the battle for Cair Paravel. PLEASE don't sue me for using some scenes from the video game. The reason this story was created in the first place was inspiration from the Prince Caspian video game so please don't sue me for using some of those scenes in this story. I didn't mean to give cheats and though I own a copy of the game, I don't own copyrights so please. I don't want to give up this story because of copyright claims and hidden cheats (which I don't know if there are…depends on how you read it). Oh and a ballista is like a giant crossbow that shoots giant spheres long distances, for those who don't know.**

**Review please. Tell me how I did being that this chapter is one that I had put a lot of thought into.**

**-tin2lo **


	10. Chapter 10

**Thanks for the reviews. Things are now finally getting interesting. So keep reviewing and reading. This chapter is dedicated to my close friend cschaferdramaqueen only because she's been riding me to have Susan and Caspian meet and guess what…you got your wish.**

_And as he spoke, he spoke  
Ordinary words, although they did not feel  
For I felt what I had not felt before  
And you'd swear those words could heal  
And as I looked up into those eyes  
His vision borrows mine  
And I know he's no stranger for I feel I've held him for all of time  
And he said…_

_Take my hand, Live while you can  
If we walk now we will divide and conquer this land  
Divide and conquer this land_

-Second verse and chorus of "Ordinary Day" by Vanessa Carlton (Live version lyrics)

The archers gathered around to see why their mentor/leader was in such a shock. Once they followed her gaze, they too did the same thing. They all bowed in respect while Susan slowly walked up to meet the new group. She walked slowly while examining everyone new in the group. She saw the new Narnians that her brother had left to recruit. She quickly examined them like she did with everyone else they recruited to find their weak points and strong points. An example would be that some centaurs in the back were collecting fruits and plants while others were looking at the surroundings. They would make great healers and strategists while the minotaurs who were also looking at the surroundings and holding weapons would be good protectors. The fauns usually helped as healers and protectors but mainly helped as providers of weaponry, as with the dwarves.

After quickly and thoroughly examining the group of Narnians her brother had recruited, she examined her brother and his recruiting group just to make sure none of them saw difficulty along the way. They all seemed to be in the same condition as when they left. She now eagerly started examining the siblings she hadn't seen in nearly 13 centuries. She almost forgot their appearance after so many years. Peter looked like as he did when he was crowned High King but was slightly taller with what looked like a stronger and tougher build. She couldn't tell if Peter was excited to see them or not. Susan's main guess was that he was trying to maintain his High King pride. Lucy also looked like she had grown a little and matured. Susan could feel the aura around Lucy and figured out that Lucy's faith was still as it was before they parted ways. Before Susan could examine the final addition to their group, the one who stuck out most being that he was a Telmarine, Lucy ran up to Susan and embraced her in a tight hug.

Everyone else was walking at normal pace to Susan. Lucy just couldn't contain herself and ran up to Susan as fast as she could. Lucy would have started crying if the voice she hadn't heard in a year (her time) hadn't started speaking. Susan kneeled down to Lucy's height to further examine her little sister's precious face. "Lucy, I've missed you so much." The two sisters wouldn't let go of each other. A hand went on Susan's shoulder and she stood up again and faced her older brother (she didn't know whether to consider him her older or younger brother anymore).

Peter didn't hesitate to embrace his sister just as tight as Lucy had but he didn't cling as long as Lucy had. Susan was perfectly fine with that. When they let go she gave Edmund a one armed hug and a wink as if to say 'I told you they'd come back eventually.' Edmund rolled his eyes at his sister.

After the "re introduction" to her missing family members, Susan was finally able to greet the Telmarine Prince and rightful heir to the throne, Prince Caspian. When Susan glanced at him on the hill with her siblings earlier, she didn't realize how handsome he really was. Before anyone noticed how long she had been staring, she put her hand out to shake his. "I'm guessing you're Prince Caspian. It's nice to finally meet the man who would save our race."

When Caspian first glanced at Susan training her archers, he saw a beautiful face on a skilled and strong woman. Not only that but the fact that she must have been the woman who raided the Telmarines for weaponry and appeared in his dream with her brother. After she turned around to face them and their group she started walking to them but Lucy immediately ran to her and made it to her before Susan even made three strides.

Caspian and everyone else walked to Susan. Edmund instructed the Narnians to follow until orders were given. Caspian allowed the Pevensies to go first in greeting the Gentle Queen. When it was finally his turn for an introduction, he tried putting together words in his head but none came out. He was overcome by how beautiful she was in person and without the cape that hid her face, but even though he wouldn't admit it he was slightly intimidated by her after seeing what she can do. Lucky for him, the Queen was also staring at him with interest but at least she was able to start the conversation.

After hearing her speak his name, he finally came back to reality and answered her. "It is also nice to finally meet the woman the Narnians so greatly look up to." He bent down to take her hand and gently kiss it. Before he stood up again, he looked up into Susan's eyes and smiled while she smiled back. He straightened his back again before anyone noticed that his feelings for this Narnian Queen were no longer just an acquaintance but now slowly developing into something more. He gave thanks for small graces that Lucy was speaking to the other Narnians that came with them and Peter was in a discussion with his brother.

When Susan offered her hand to Prince Caspian, she expected a hand shake. She felt some kind of spark when she felt his lips meet contact with her hand. She didn't know whether she blushed or not when he kissed her hand but she hoped that she didn't or else Edmund would definitely be the first to notice. After he kissed her hand, he stared into her eyes and she stared into his. She was quite mesmerized by his beautiful bright eyes that didn't harness anger to the Narnians like the other Telmarines did. He was more of a gentleman than Susan would have expected in a Telmarine. She didn't want to admit it but she was slowly growing into an infatuation with this prince but the logical side of her (although she thought she killed it when she was first crowned) kept saying that they would never work. There were already several reasons running around through her head but she decided to save it for later. For now, she wanted to enjoy the moments they had.

He stood up again and let go of her hand which brought them both back to reality. She gave him a small smile and quickly turned her head away before he noticed how embarrassed she felt under his gaze. She didn't know what came over her. She's had suitors before but then again that was 1300 years ago. For Caspian, he tried to wipe the grin off his face while Susan turned away before either of her brothers noticed. Unfortunately, or possibly fortunately, Edmund had noticed and while Peter was talking to him about the life in England with Edmund bringing him up to speed about the life in Narnia, he kept looking through the corner of his eye the little passing between Prince Caspian and his sister. He knew when he first saw Caspian that something was going to happen between him and his sister. It was only logical, especially with her being the only female human in the entire Narnian area, besides Lucy of course.

Edmund went back to listening to Peter until Susan put her hand on his shoulder. He turned and faced his sister. He quickly noticed the very small hint of blush on her extremely pale skin and almost smirked at her but held it in. She spoke to him in ancient Narnian telling him that she was a little afraid of whether or not the Narnians trusted Caspian. As she said this, Edmund looked at her group of archers and noticed most were already back inside the How to tell the rest the news. He looked back at the group he just recruited and noticed that they were getting fidgety and didn't know what to do but stay where they were. The only other Narnians outside the how were the centaurs lining up on each side of the entrance to raise their swords in respect to their rulers. Susan and Edmund decided to see first how everything goes one step at a time.

The centaurs were all lined up but did not take out their swords. They deeply bowed just like when the Narnians all bowed in respect to Aslan. This time they bowed in respect for the rulers who have been with them throughout everything from the golden age to now. Edmund and Susan walked inside the How with the centaurs still bowing at them. Peter, Lucy, and Caspian felt awkward and didn't know what to do. After Susan and Edmund were in the How, the centaurs raised their swords in respect to the new monarchs who would help in the upcoming battle.

Peter and Lucy walked through the sword arc. Lucy was almost hit by a sword lifted by a child centaur until the centaur next to him helped to lift it up. Caspian walked through closely behind them while the other Narnians were behind him. When everyone finally entered the How, the new recently recruited Narnians from earlier were taken by Edmund and were given instructions. Susan took to her siblings and the Prince.

Susan saw the three of them looking around the place. Lucy had gone exploring further but the two teenage boys were still standing in the same position. Most Narnians were staring at them with blank expressions. Others were busy making weaponry or armor. Susan broke them from their trance. "It may not be what we're used to but it is defensive."

Lucy chose that time to make her appearance. "Peter. You may want to see this." Peter followed her while Susan looked to where Lucy had gone. When Peter went to follow Lucy, Caspian had stared at Susan as if to say 'should I follow?' Susan gave him a small smile, nodded her head and took a torch. The two of them caught up with Lucy and Peter. Susan answered their unasked question of who the people painted on the walls were.

"It's us." Peter, Lucy, and Caspian all stared at Susan and at Edmund who had finally caught up with them, another lit torch in his hand.

Lucy asked the first question. "What is this place?" Susan and Edmund looked at each other and realization dawned on them both. They didn't know the exact origin of Aslan's How. Susan handed Peter her torch and took another one then lead the way while Edmund kept up the back.

They were lead into a dark room but Susan had set a circle of fire alight to show them the details of the very room. What Peter first noticed was the carvings on the wall. All over the room were depictions of groups consisting of fauns, centaurs, minotaurs, griffins, and dwarves, those who made a last stand at Cair Paravel. The main one that seemed to stand out most was the middle carving depicting Aslan in all of his glory sitting on a hill with the sun shining behind him. Caspian noticed everything at once and thought it surreal to be standing in the same room as the ancient stone table.

Lucy noticed the carving of Aslan first along with the stone table in the middle. She could see Aslan's death play clearly in her head. Susan observed her siblings and Prince Caspian while Edmund went to see what was going on with the Narnians. Susan saw that they all knew why she, Edmund, and the Narnians chose this as their secret location.

Lucy walked up to the stone table and gently put her hand on it. She turned to face Susan and everyone else. "He must know what he's doing."

Peter was the next to speak. "I think it's up to us now." Everyone nodded their heads in agreement with him except Susan who didn't know what to do or feel. Something didn't feel right to her. She wasn't threatened that Peter was here to take her place as leader and she didn't want Peter to think that. Ever since Susan's decision to take refuge in the woods, everyone elected her high ruler while Edmund was most trusted advisor and lieutenant. Everyone trusted her judgment, especially Edmund, which is why he never complained to following his sister's orders. One of her good judgments led to their perfect system of acquiring more Narnians to build up an army.

She stayed back and allowed her eldest brother and Prince Caspian to take the lead thinking that they could do better than what she's already done. No one knows but she kept some kind of emotional feelings in the back of her head and heart that not even Edmund knew about and he knew her best out of anyone. She stayed quiet. Edmund quickly rushed back to Susan and alerted her in English that the Narnian that the Narnians were no longer in the How.

All five of them rushed outside to see where they had all gone. The sun had finally faded and everything was covered by the night. All of the Narnians were outside in the back of the How forming a circle. The five monarchs were confused. Some Narnians who didn't join the circle yet grabbed the monarchs and gently pushed them to the middle of the circle of Narnians. All five looked at the Narnians around them in confusion. The young monarchs all had the same question in their minds. Had the Narnians turned against them?

Before anyone could speak, Susan was grabbed by a Minotaur and carried bridal style to a rock that served as a platform. She let out a shriek of surprise but didn't fight the Minotaur who had put her down safely on the rock like platform. Another Minotaur did the same to Edmund. Soon both Susan and Edmund were standing together on a rock like platform with a centaur and Minotaur standing protectively in front of them.

Caspian noticed that it was the same platform as when he first dreamed of them. Peter and Lucy didn't know what to do because the Minotaurs didn't do the same for them. Instead, they were gently pushed to the opposite side of where Susan and Edmund were standing. Two fauns were holding them in case they tried to run.

Caspian was left in the middle of the circle. Now everything was even more confusing. Susan finally spoke to the Narnians knowing that they trusted her. She spoke in ancient Narnian. "What is the meaning of this?"

Once she said that there was an uproar among the Narnians. One of the fauns who was holding Peter and Lucy spoke first through all of the yelling. "Forgive us your majesty but he is a Telmarine. He is not trusted among us. Who knows what he could have possibly done to the minds of the former High King and former Queen Regent during their time spent."

There was another uproar and each Narnian was yelling something different at Caspian.

"Kill him!"

"Telmarine!"

"Liar!"

"Murderer!"

Now Nikabrik spoke before Susan or Edmund had a chance to stop the Narnians. "All this horn proves is that they've stolen yet another thing from us." He was talking about Susan's horn which everyone learned had been under his possession and still is under his possession.

Caspian now addressed him and everyone else. "I didn't steal anything." Again, everyone started yelling again. They were mostly calling him a liar.

The Minotaur guarding Edmund and Susan spoke up. "Didn't steal anything?" The Minotaur now addressed the other Narnians. "Shall we list the things the Telmarines have taken?"

A female centaur spoke up. "Our homes…"

Then a faun. "Our Freedom…"

Another Narnian yelled. "Our Lives!" Another Narnian after him yelled. "You stole Narnia!"

Caspian turned in a full 360 to see the faces of those accusing him of such things. "You would hold me accountable for all the crimes of my people."

Nikabrik spoke up yet again. "Accountable…and punishable."

Reepicheep, who didn't fully reject Caspian, contradicted Nikabrik. "Ha! That is rich coming from you dwarf. Or have you forgotten that it was your people who fought alongside the White Witch!" Reepicheep was accusingly pointing at him with his sword but Nikabrik flicked it away from him.

"And I'd gladly do it again, if it would rid us of these barbarians!" He practically spat out the last word at Caspian.

Trufflehunter now spoke up after seeing the distress on all four of the Pevensie's faces, mainly the distress coming from Queen Susan who worked so hard all these years to keep them from fighting. "Then it's lucky that it is not in your power to bring her back. Or are you suggesting that we ask this boy to go against Aslan now?"

Everyone was yelling "No!" The last thing they wanted was to go against Aslan.

Trufflehunter continued to talk. "Some of you may have forgotten, but we badgers remember well that Narnia was never right except when a son of Adam was king." Peter and Lucy stayed quiet, hoping that no one would bring up the fact that they had practically abandoned the Narnians the first time.

Nikabrik spoke again. "He's a Telmarine. Why would we want him as our king? I'd rather put those two _kids_ on the throne. They've been here for 1300 years at least we know where they'll be in another few hundred." He was referencing to Susan and Edmund and pointing at them as if they still weren't a good choice as king or queen and yet they were the best. The centaur guard pointed his sword at Nikabrik. "Don't you dare talk to them like that!"

Susan looked at Caspian's face and he looked at hers and neither of them knew what to do. Susan finally took the chance and spoke up. "You don't know where we'll be in another few centuries. King Edmund and I could die tomorrow for all you know." Again, everyone started yelling but Susan kept speaking through the crowd. "The only think that we do know right now, is that we need him." She motioned to Caspian and gave a look that said he should speak if he wants their trust.

He got the message and started speaking. "And I can help you." He looked at everyone. "Beyond these woods, I am a prince. The Telmarine throne is rightfully mine. Help me claim it and I can bring peace between us." He looked at all of the Narnians who had grown quiet then at Peter and Lucy. Lucy smiled at him but Peter gave no eye contact. Caspian then looked at the faces of Edmund and Susan. Edmund nodded in approval while Susan gave him and encouraging smile.

Glenstorm, general of the Narnian army whose ranking was right under Edmund, spoke. "It is true. The time is right. I watch the sky for it is mine to watch, as it is yours to remember, badger. Tarva the Lord of Victory and Alambil the Lady of Peace have come together in the high heavens. Now here, a son of Adam has come forth to offer us back our freedom." He pointed to Caspian.

A squirrel by the name of Pattertwig spoke up. "Is this possible? Do you really think there could be peace? Do you? I mean, I mean, really?" He was speaking in his fast squirrel voice.

Caspian addressed him along with everyone else. "Two days ago, I didn't believe in the existence of talking animals, or dwarves, or centaurs, or even the ghosts of an ancient king and queen. But here you are, in strength and numbers that we Telmarines could never have imagined." He lifted Susan's horn. "We have seen that this horn really is magic. It brought us together and brought back your other missing King and Queen. And together we have a chance to take back what is ours."

Glenstorm spoke again. "If you will lead us along with our Kings and Queens, then my sons and I…" He paused to lift up his sword. "…offer you our swords." Everyone followed his example and lifted their swords. The Pevensie's looked around them. Susan, Edmund, and Lucy were happy that the Narnians trusted the man destined to save them but Peter couldn't help but feel some kind of anger and betrayal in the pit of his stomach. He did nothing but stared without expression.

Reepicheep also lifted his sword to his heart. "And we offer you our lives, unreservedly."

Trufflehunter faced Susan and Edmund. "Miraz's army will not be far behind us, sires."

Susan looked at Edmund and he spoke. "If we are to be ready, we will need more soldiers and weapons. I'm sure they'll be here soon. We will divide and conquer. Queen Susan will lead a Narnian party to steal weapons from their camp grounds tonight. Everyone else will help set up here for tomorrow's training sessions."

The group dispersed, some people went back inside the How while others went to collect their weapons and things they need to join Susan for their nightly thievery. Edmund escorted Susan back into the How and told her that Peter and Caspian were coming with tonight.

Both of them knew the boiling anger that was bound to erupt between the two and the only thing that Edmund had to say to Susan was "Good Luck." Edmund had a playful smirk on his face while Susan looked at him in surprise. They continued their walk back to the How.

_Oh the power to be strong  
And the wisdom to be wise  
All these things will come to you in time  
On this journey that you're making  
There'll be answers that you'll seek  
And it's you who'll climb the mountain  
It's you who'll reach the peak_

_Son of Man look to the skies  
Lift your spirit, Set it free  
Someday you'll walk tall with pride  
Son of Man's a man in time you'll be_

-First verse and chorus of "Son of Man" by Phil Collins (Tarzan Soundtrack)

**I'm really sorry for the long delay. I had a mini writers block. Originally this chapter was longer but I had enough for it to fit into two chapters, so read and review to see how it all plays out. And yes, this was the dancing lawn scene. What's amazing is that i was able to fit it in this story at all.**

**Stuff to look forward to in Chapter 11:  
Susan and Edmund on her relationship with Caspian…will he approve or not?  
More Susan and Caspian interaction  
Pre-raid training  
Nightly thievery of the Telmarines  
Possible introduction to raid…**

**Read and Review to see it all play out!**

**-tin2lo**


	11. Chapter 11

**We have finally made over a hundred reviews which is a pretty big event for me so thanks so much to everyone who reviewed. I'm not even going to try and explain my excuse for a delayed chapter. I swear I actually have an excuse. Schaferdramaqueen can vouch for me. Life has not been friendly on the free time.**

_In learning you will teach  
And in teaching you will learn  
You'll find a place beside the one's you love  
Oh and all the things you dreamed of  
The visions that you saw  
Well the time is drawing near now  
It's yours to claim it all_

_Son of Man look to the sky  
Lift your spirit, set it free  
Someday you'll walk tall with pride  
Son of Man a man in time you'll be_

-"Son of Man" by Phil Collins (Disney's Tarzan Soundtrack)

Susan knew she had to hurry to leave for the Telmarine campsite but she couldn't help but feel nervous about what would happen tonight. On one side of the How, she saw her brother who she hadn't seen in 1300 years. He was walking to a room to probably prepare for nightly thievery that they were about to do. She did miss her brother and she loves him dearly but she didn't know if he loved her enough to put aside a few differences that she could already see occur with Prince Caspian. Peter could possibly feel threatened for his throne and for the love and respect of his people. He probably expected to be the High King again once he came back but instead finds out that someone else is destined to rule and has the complete support of two out of three of his siblings.

She looked to the other side of the how where some fauns and centaurs were taking her advice and trying to get to know Caspian. She smiled. He didn't seem to be anything like the people they have been fighting against for 13 centuries. He also seemed very sweet to the Narnians and she couldn't help but feel something she never felt before.

Susan gasped and quickly turned when she felt the hand of her younger brother on her shoulder. "Enjoying the view?" Edmund had a sly and knowing smirk on his face.

"Shut up, Ed." Susan playfully hit her brother on the shoulder. After the two finished chuckling, Susan seriously looked at her brother. "How long have you known?" They only met the Telmarine Prince a few hours ago but Susan and Edmund were so close that they knew what each other were talking about.

"Since he kissed your hand when you two met." The sly smile was still not gone. Susan had a slight glare for her brother.

"Ok fine, I understand why you would send him with me tonight but why did you have Peter join us as well?"

Edmund's smile only got bigger. "Let's just say it's a learning experience." Right after he said that, Peter and Caspian were both walking to her and the tension could already be felt. Before they were within hearing range Edmund whispered to her again. "Again I say, good luck."

Susan inwardly groaned before she faced the two "rulers." Peter made it to her first and she wasn't surprised when he started telling her directions.

"Alright Su, the closest Telmarine camp with weaponry is about a mile away. If we take fifty of the best trained people, we should be able to kill all the soldiers easily."

Susan was about to respond until Caspian beat her to it. "I beg your pardon." He looked at Susan and smiled before he looked back at Peter. "But fifty Narnians are not enough to take on even a small army of Telmarines…no matter how trained they may be. We should stick to stealing weapons only."

"I'm sorry, but I believe I will be leading this group tonight. They should be able to kill regardless how much practice they've received so far."

It was obvious that Peter and Caspian were about to face off at each other. "I think I know the Telmarines better than you."

"And I think I know the Narnians a little bit better than you even after I was gone for 1300 years."

Susan had enough. She finally spoke up. "I think it would be best if _I_ led the Narnians tonight. They still don't quite trust either of you at the moment and the fact that the two of you will make it there and back without harming me should be enough to gain their trust." Edmund who still stood behind his sister tried to hide his smirk but was slightly failing.

Susan looked back at Edmund with a gritted smile and said "Ed, get ten of our soldiers ready for tonight. We should be ready in five minutes."

Both Caspian and Peter looked at her in disbelief. Peter spoke first. "Susan, ten Narnians is not enough to fight these people."

She turned back at them. "First of all, ten is just enough. I would know because Edmund and I trained them and we trust them whole-heartedly, a lesson you should learn during your stay. And secondly, I never said we would fight them."

Caspian and Peter again looked at her in disbelief. Susan turned and finally left the How to wait outside. This was going to be a long night after all.

Throughout the entire walk to the campsite Susan could feel the eyes of both men on her. Of course Asterius the Minotaur was on one side of Susan while Glenstorm was on the other but she couldn't get Caspian's or Peter's eyes off of her. Despite that, she moved with urgency.

Susan's train of thought broke when she stopped abruptly. Since it was the dead of night, the army behind her bumped right into her and the only way she didn't hit the ground was when Glenstorm, Asterius, Peter, and Caspian all grabbed her and prevented her from falling. She was amazed and suffocated at the same time. What kind of reflexes did these people have? That didn't matter right now though. Once they each let go of her, she quickly ran into the bushes. The others quickly followed.

"Shh." They all looked at where she looked through the bushes. They had reached the army with caravans of weaponry. Only about three to ten men were there guarding.

Caspian looked at Susan. "We should create a strategy before we take the weaponry." For once Peter actually agreed. Susan now realized why Edmund had brought them both with her. It really was a learning experience. They needed to know how things now worked.

She decided to ignore them for now. Instead, she ordered to fauns to play the Lullabies but to make sure only the Telmarines were affected. Once they were completely asleep, she then looked at the two new men in her life.

"_Now_ we get the weaponry. Throw the lightest weapons to the sky high enough for griffins to snatch and fly back. The heavier weaponry will be taken by the minotaurs, centaurs, fuans and of course us." She told one of the non flute playing fauns to keep watch. Susan let her army go their own ways but she could tell that Peter and Caspian were keeping a short distance away from her. The only thing she could do was curse Edmund for making her go through with this idea. She decided not to think of that and instead went straight for the crossbows.

She realized that there were a lot of them but decided not to call for help. She decided to do it herself and not bother the other hardworking soldiers. Curse her gentle, kind, caring personality. As the first crossbow finally slipped through her arms, it was swiftly caught by the Telmarine Prince.

"You should not be doing this alone, your majesty."

"Oh, well thank you. I greatly appreciate it." For once in her life, she didn't know what exactly to say to the man.

"Your soldiers are doing fine. I think they can spare some of their strength to carry a few crossbows. We Telmarines don't favor the traditional long bow as much as you Narnians."

"I understand and I thank you again but I've adjusted well on my own, I think I can manage." She again was at a loss for words. Instead she hurriedly fled to find more weaponry and to clear her mind of the prince.

Prince Caspian, on the other hand, was surprised at the force that compelled him to go near her in the first place. Besides the fact that she needed help, why did he want to help so badly when several of the other soldiers could have? That fact that he didn't trip over words when he spoke to her gave him a good sign. It was a big accomplishment for him. It was also a good sign that Peter was too engrossed in the work he was doing trying to prove he could still lead that he didn't even notice the little interaction between Caspian and his sister of whom is was still highly protective over.

Once all of the weapons were taken, they were about to leave. The army was satisfied with the work they did that night that they were too happy about how strong their army was and insisted to Susan that they were good enough to train in the morning instead of heading straight for the well deserved sleep. When Peter heard the answer Susan gave, he immediately started thinking. She gave them complete permission to train for 24 hours straight and there were only two trainers, Susan and Edmund. Peter added two and two and realized something. How long has it been since sleep came across Susan or Edmund's minds? He decided to confront her later on that topic.

Peter took the front end while Susan was supposed to take the back end just to make sure that everyone left unharmed. While she did this she realized that Caspian was not in the group. She looked around and found him by one of the caravans. She approached him and saw that he was carving something into the back door of the caravan.

_You were right to fear the woods_

_-x_

She didn't realize that she was thinking out loud. "X?"

Caspian turned and saw her. "I am the tenth of my line." She nodded in understanding. Caspian smiled at her and she smiled back. She was going to say something until she felt Asterius nearing her. She almost forgot about her two personal body guards who have been faithful to her ever since their ancestors first started guarding her and her brother 1300 years ago.

Caspian who also sensed Asterius' arrival whispered to Susan. "We should probably get going."

Caspian escorted Susan to the spot Asterius was waiting. He smiled at her the whole time thinking that she didn't know when really she tried to look oblivious for those she thought could be watching aka Peter. Realization finally dawned on her. No no no. She couldn't start a relationship in the middle of war. It's been 1300 years since she's seen a suitor or a real guy for that matter, with only thinking of war and paranoia did she even know how to act appropriately in front of a man anymore? The fact that she is also a queen to these people didn't take the pressure off of her. If anything she needed to look out for her people more than her relationship or lack thereof.

For some strange reason the walk to the How seemed more awkward than the walk from it and no one could tell why. It maybe had something to do with the three monarchs in the quiet while everyone was celebrating about their latest thievery. The second they got back to the How, the weapons were put away, the soldiers went to eat or train, Peter and Caspian separated not wanting to spend any unnecessary time with each other, and Susan was preparing to give a long speech to Edmund about the night's events.

Edmund was still in the middle of one of his lessons to the group of Narnians they had met only a few hours ago. When he saw Susan and her death glare approaching him he quickly dismissed the class. Edmund took a few deep breaths and waited for his sister. After being with her for 1300 years he learned the true meaning of "looks can kill." He tried to prepare himself over what to say to Susan.

"Good morning, sis. Have a successful night?"

"Hmm where do I begin? Should I start with being emotionally suffocated or mentally broken by I man I met merely a few hours ago?" Sarcasm was heavily dripping in her words. "Edmund you set me up with a suitor and you made me bring my own personal babysitter."

Edmund looked at his sister and tried to pick words that wouldn't anger her. "First of all, Caspian is technically not a suitor." Susan glared at him harder but he kept speaking. "Second of all, if I had Caspian go with you alone with Peter knowing he would never trust me again so I asked him to go with your group." Susan did not lighten up even for a minute. "And lastly, I did say it was a learning experience."

Susan was still mad. "If you wanted them to learn our customs you should have just brought them yourself. Them going with me shouldn't make a difference."

"Begging your pardon and forgiveness but I never said it was _their _learning experience." Susan just gaped at him. What was her brother trying to teach her?

This time she was furious. Although Edmund had grown taller with puberty that he was Susan's height, Susan had grown stronger with the training. She grabbed her brother by his blue tunic and lifted him a good amount off the ground. "What, pray tell, are you trying to say?"

Edmund tried not to show it but he really was scared now that he just babbled everything out. "Ok ok. I was tired of seeing you alone and thought that you needed someone like him in your life."

As sweet as it was for her brother to look out for her like that she was still mad. "Just because I've been alone for centuries doesn't give you the right to interfere in my social or love life."

Edmund gently put his hands on Susan's fist which still tightly held his tunic. "No, but the fact that I'm your brother and love you quite dearly does give me that right."

And that was what got Susan. She quickly became her gentle self again and put Edmund down. Edmund tried smoothing out his tunic but spoke to her at the same time. "I really do care for you Susan and after everything you've done, you deserve something in return. Now you may not like what I've done but you can't change it. The damage is done and I know that I somehow started something for you. If you get hurt I promise to dig my own grave but for right now, I believe you have an archery class to teach."

Susan was still in disbelief but Edmund gave her a one armed hug to make her feel slightly better. She smiled back at her brother and he walked away also feeling slightly better. She grabbed her bow and quiver of arrows to prepare for the class and contemplated on what her brother said. Maybe it was possible for Susan not to know everything about her brother even after being with him for so long. She shook her head and went on with her practice.

_Well disaster it strikes on a daily basis  
I'm looking for wisdom in all the wrong places  
But still wanna laugh in disappointed faces  
And you can't help me  
Blinded by these_

_Heroes and Thieves at my door  
I can't seem to tell them apart anymore  
Just when I figured it out  
oh Darling it's you I'm without_

-First verse and chorus of "Heroes and Thieves" by Vanessa Carlton

**Again I am so sorry for such a long delay. It was never on hiatus and I didn't have writer's block. Life doesn't like giving me free time and everyday I didn't update I felt saddened. Please review to make me happy. Don't worry there is still more pre raid stuff to happen I just didn't want to put it all in this chapter. I hope it lived up to the long wait. If not than flame at will.**

**-tin2lo**


	12. Chapter 12

**Ok so I was freaking out that this chapter was going to be the raid and that I ran out of pre raid stuff but then I woke up at 2 am and was like "Oh My Gosh! There's still a lot of stuff I still need to add!" So yeah hence this chapter. Enjoy!**

Chapter 12:

After a few minutes of practicing on her own, Susan's new group of students finally approached her. She noticed that half of them were the recruits from the previous night. After training Narnians for the past 13 centuries, she was by now used to the routine and had the patience of a thousand men. Of course first came the evaluation, to see how they could do on their own. This particular group, just by assessing how well they did the first time without help, was going to be a tough one. Next, demonstrate. Then, re-demonstrate because sometimes it's just too fast for them. And lastly, improve.

This particular group was somehow more difficult than the past few. When she finally showed them the routine and had them do it on their own, the still somehow couldn't get it. The longest it ever took her to teach a class and have them do it perfectly was only an hour (five minutes was her record, but the fact that at the time she was training soldiers with experience may have benefitted…but only a little). She had been going through the same routine with the same people for almost two hours now. For some strange reason, they just couldn't get it. In hers and Edmund's system, one of them had to evaluate the new Narnians to see where they fit best. While she was gone, Edmund had done that with their new recruits. She was starting to doubt her brother because the group he had sent her was clearly not getting it.

She had them shoot one more time with Trufflehunter on the opposite side holding the stuffed Telmarine dummy/target. Within three seconds all arrows had flown simultaneously and also missed simultaneously.

Trufflehunter looked at her. "Nope, not a scratch."

Susan sighed greatly. She looked at her group. "It's alright." She then whispered but mainly to herself. "Rome wasn't built in a day."

A satyr whispered to a faun. "How long did it take?"

While the faun replied back confused, "What's Rome?"

Susan heard and looked at them sympathetically. "It's just a phrase." As soon as she finished that sentence, an arrow flew right past them at a fast speed. She gasped. She heard Trufflehunter nearly scream, "Hey!"

She looked at the dummy and back at her group. "Nice shot. Which one of you…?"

Before she could finish she heard the voice of Prince Caspian behind her and she turned to see him holding a crossbow. "Good afternoon, your majesty." He moved closer to her to speak with her. "I thought you could use some help."

Although Susan somehow knew that he wasn't intentionally making her feel bad, she was still slightly insulted that he would doubt her teaching skills when she's been doing it as long as his descendents have been in Narnia. "Things are well in hand, thank you."

"I didn't mean to suggest otherwise." Susan felt slightly guilty. She didn't want him to think that he had offended her.

"I suppose you could do better?"

He looked at her as if he felt that she doubted him and that he wanted to show off a little (might as well when it's a pretty girl). "Pick a target."

Susan knew where this was going, might as well have some fun. She looked around for a worthy target. "Do you see that pinecone?"

Caspian looked at it and smiled knowing that wasn't that hard. "No problem." He was aiming but before he knew it, he felt the warmth of Susan's body near him and her hands helping his on the crossbow. She was adjusting the area the crossbow was pointing to.

"No, that one." She was helping him and although she knew it was probably awkward for him, she felt a familiar comfort when being close to him. It wasn't the fatherly love she felt when near Aslan, the brotherly love she felt with Peter, and it wasn't even the best friend love she felt with Edmund. She just couldn't place it. Was it a new kind of love? No, she refused that to be the reason, not in the middle of a war.

Caspian broke his gaze from Susan and looked at where she had now re-aimed him. He could barely see what her chosen target was, yet he still saw it. "Are you sure that's not an acorn?" He nearly scoffed at the fact that she must have been wrong.

She now looked at him as if she was challenging him. "Too far for you?"

Caspian now knew the challenge that lay before him. He returned her challenging look, aimed, and shot missing by only inches. He smiled, proud at the shot he made.

Susan looked at where he shot, clearly impressed. "Not bad."

Caspian was clearly proud of himself. "Well I was trained by the finest in the Telmarine Army."

Susan had a teasing smile on her face. "Well if that's the best they've got, we might stand a chance after all." She then notched her bow with an arrow and shot the same pinecone, hitting it with perfect ease. At the same time, Caspian stared at her as if he couldn't comprehend her joke against the Telmarines.

Before they even had a chance to praise her skills, they immediately saw a Telmarine spy just a few feet from where the arrow and pinecone landed. Susan and Caspian looked at each other and both notched an arrow ready to shoot. Susan shot first and perfectly hit the reigns of the horse and attached it to a tree. Caspian shot three seconds after her and killed the man who was frozen from Susan's arrow trapping the horse. Susan looked at her group. She looked at one of her students and quickly told him in Narnian to warn King Peter or King Edmund of the Telmarine spy and to make sure that they get guards around the How.

Susan and Caspian ran to the man they caught. Caspian looked at the man he killed while Susan un-notched the arrow that attached the horse's reign to the tree. She gave the reigns to Caspian but rubbed the area of which she shot the tree. Caspian knew that she didn't mean to hurt the tree. He saw what the tree cutting did to the Narnians who lived within the trees, mainly the dryads. He put a hand on her arm to comfort her. She returned it with a smile.

Meanwhile:

Inside the How, Lucy and Peter were adapting well with Susan and Edmund's system. At the moment, Lucy was learning how the female Narnians were using berries and herbs to make healing medicines. Lucy was always one to make Narnian friends fast; her socialization skills when it came to her people were the best of the business (even if she's been gone for 1300 years.)

Currently, she was mixing a bowl of herbs and paste for a bottle of healing ointment while learning what she missed during her time gone with one of the female centaurs who happened to be Glenstorm's wife. For the most part, the conversation was pretty casual.

"What's it been like living here for centuries?"

Glenstorm's wife paused for a while, thinking up a good answer. "Living here brings me more peace than living in the woods where Telmarine soldiers can choose to go in and out and kill anything and anyone in their paths. Your brother and sister also provide us comfort and protection. We have not been failed by them yet."

Somehow that last sentence was a stab to the heart for Lucy. "I know they're different and great protectors by why has Aslan not returned yet?"

Glenstorm's wife paused even longer than before. "That is a question that needs to be brought to the queen." She left straight after that leaving Lucy alone in silence with a few of the other healers. She started thinking even deeper. Two of her siblings were living in Narnia for centuries so why hasn't Aslan been seen at least once? She continued mixing her herbs, trying to remember to ask Ed or Su later.

With the Boys:

Edmund and Peter were training soldiers in the art of sword fighting in the back of the How at the same time Susan was training her archers in the front of the How. Peter and Edmund were fighting each other to show as an example. After about an hour of training, the Narnians went inside to sharpen their weapons or to eat something. Peter and Edmund stayed outside. Peter thought now would be a good time to get reacquainted with his brother. Peter felt uncomfortable but he tried to make as much small talk as he could.

"It's good to see you again, brother."

Edmund looked at his brother smiling. "It's good to see you too. It took me a year to figure out exactly how much I missed the two of you."

Peter laughed lightly at the semi joke. "And why wouldn't you miss us? I mean Lucy and I do make up the fun group."

Edmund lightly punched Peter in the arm. The two boys were laughing lightly, glad to be back together again. Peter looked at the How then looked back at his brother seriously. He had the same question Lucy had earlier. "Ed, why have you allowed the Narnians to live this way for so long?"

Edmund's smile quickly fell. He knew the meaning behind the question. Where's Aslan? Edmund didn't know how to answer. He tried proposing the same question to Susan at one point and she came up with a fast excuse to avoid the question and leave the room. Afterwards, she didn't speak to him for a few hours and just stayed isolated and avoided him also. Before Peter could ask Edmund again, one of the fauns from Susan's archery class came up to him, breathing deeply and trying to choke out the message that a Telmarine was found spying.

Before Edmund could make any orders, King Peter quickly stepped up and had fauns and satyrs guard the How and gave out specific times of when one should be guarding the How. Edmund didn't mind that Peter was stepping up, he just hoped it wouldn't go too far.

When the faun left to deliver the orders, the centaur child from earlier came out and tried wielding one of the swords found on the ground. Peter and Edmund were already moving to help the child but stopped when they saw Caspian approach the centaur. Peter and Edmund were too far to hear what was being exchanged but they could see perfectly well what was happening. Caspian was helping the child centaur to wield a sword and to fight a little.

Edmund smiled while Peter stood sony faced. Edmund looked at his older brother. "You know he really is a good guy." He looked again at Caspian who was smiling at the child.

Peter looked at Edmund, unchanged expressions still glued to his face. "You've known him over the course of a few hours. I've known him longer than you have and I still don't fully trust him. Why would you?"

Edmund looked again at Caspian and the centaur. "Because, he holds traits only a true Narnian holds, traits I haven't seen since the Golden Age. Besides that, there was only one person in all of Narnia from the Golden Age that he reminds me of."

Peter looked at his younger brother confused. "And who would that be?"

Edmund looked his brother straight in the eyes. "You." He put an affectionate hand on his older brother's shoulder just like Susan did to him and walked back to the How.

Peter just stared silently but eventually followed Edmund back into the How, where he also noticed that Caspian and the child centaur also entered. The second Peter set foot into the How, he saw Narnians frantically racing past him to the area of which the stone table lay. Caspian stood next to him with the same confused expression. Susan or Edmund must have called a meeting. He quickly grabbed the arm of one of the fauns who past him. "What's going on?"

The faun was breathless but quickly replied. "Another Telmarine soldier was found but this time he got away." Peter looked at Caspian and both quickly ran to the stone table room. The time to strike was soon at hand.

**Ok so some stuff in this chapter didn't come out the way I expected it to but that's ok. I just hope it came out well. That's up to you so tell me how I did because most of the stuff in this chapter was a quick idea that just came to me. Here are a few notes: when Peter says the thing about the "fun group" it was a reference to one of the Narnia interviews, Georgie and Will say that their interview room is the fun room while Anna's and Skandar's wasn't. Last note: the whole Aslan thing in this chapter is forshadowing. Please think of that.**

**Hope you enjoyed. Review please!**

**-tin2lo**

**(ps no songs…couldn't find matching ones…sorry)**


	13. Chapter 13

**Hi! Sorry for lack of updates. Half of me says that you deserve the late update for the number of reviews that I received in the last chapter. The other half of me, the one of which you all so love, says that it's probably my fault for updating the last chapter right before thanksgiving when you guys probably left to see family or something or maybe it just sucked. Even if the reason you people didn't review the last chapter was because it sucked, I'd still like to know regardless whether or not it'll hurt me. So enough of my life lessons (I think)…on with this chapter. **

_I don't understand why we  
Do what we do to each other  
According to His word  
We're all born sisters and brothers_

_But we lie and we steal, Fight and we kill  
Even though we know the way_

_Why do we go Dancing In Circles  
When we know it never ends  
We come so close to loving each other  
And then we go Dancing In Circles again_

-First verse and chorus of "Dancing In Circles" by Love and Theft

When Peter and Caspian arrived at the stone table room, everyone was already there. Edmund sat on a stone on the opposite side of the room where Susan was sitting on a stone and Lucy was in the middle sitting on the cracked stone table. Most of the Narnians higher in rank (head army leaders and personal bodyguards) stood behind Susan while everyone else sat somewhere around the cracked stone table. Caspian and Peter just stood in the middle of circle. Edmund looked at Susan expecting her to speak first, being their leader and all. He gave her a look that said "Speak" but she only returned it giving a look that said "Let's hear what they have to say."

It wasn't long until Peter spoke up. "It's only a matter of time. Miraz's men and war machines are on their way." He stopped to look at everyone in the room, and then he smiled almost with a sense of pride. "That means those same men aren't protecting his castle."

Reepicheep spoke up inquiring what the High King was proposing. "What do you propose we do, your majesty?"

"We need to start running…"

"We need to get ready for…"

Caspian and Peter both spoke up at the same time and both rapidly that not even Susan nor Edmund could distinguish who said what. Peter and Caspian looked at each other. Peter had a hard look on his face that made Caspian step down in order for Peter to speak.

"Our only hope is to strike them before they strike us."

Caspian immediately voiced his concerns. "But that's crazy, no one has ever taken that castle."

Peter was not easily moved. "There's always a first time."

Trumpkin backed up Peter. "We'll have the element of surprise."

Caspian wasn't going to give up easily. "But we have the advantage here."

Susan spoke up. "If we dig in we can probably hold them off indefinitely." She looked at both her brother and Caspian. Peter gave her an angry and disappointed look. Susan knew what he was assuming. He thought that she wanted to stay at the How because she'd rather agree to Caspian's proposal. Well that wasn't the real reason as to why she would have rather stayed at the How. She would have rebutted but the last thing she needed was to look weak in front of everyone.

Trufflehunter burst in with his say. "I for one feel safer underground."

Peter had enough. He was the High King and was going to be listened to. He looked at Caspian. "Look, I appreciate what Queen Susan and King Edmund have done here as well as you but this isn't a fortress, it's a tomb."

Edmund was mad though he tried not to show it. It may have been a tomb but he and Susan managed to make it so strong that it was able to last as long as it was. Although he was mad at how Peter had addressed the How, he did favor Peter's idea more than Caspians. "Yes, and if they're smart, the Telmarines will just wait and starve us out."

Pattertwig the squirrel spoke up. "We could collect nuts."

Reepicheep nearly rolled his eyes. "Yes, and throw them at the Telmarines." Heavey sarcasm was evident. He looked at Pattertwig. "Shut up."

Susan tried to hide the giggle that was slowly escaping but most of the Narnians heard being that they tried to savor the moments when they would hear their Gentle Queen laugh again. It was just such a rare occasion to hear even a giggle escape hers or even King Edmund's lips.

Reepicheep looked again at Peter. "I think you know where I stand, sire."

Peter looked at Susan seriously. "Susan, if I get your troops in, can they handle the guards?" Susan felt a little disturbed not because this was probably the most crucial decision she had to make in 1300 years, but because Peter was talking to her as a general or a leader, not as his little sister.

Susan knew this was a tough decision. She looked behind her to all of her subjects, her leaders, her followers. She knew they were capable but was she ready to see the pain of defeat? During their nightly thievery or destruction of small Telmarine armies, they never suffered any deaths or injuries. This would be their first major attack.

Her subjects looked at her and lightly bowed their heads in respect as if to say, they would follow her anywhere and that they trusted her. She turned to look at Edmund. He nodded his head as well to say that he too would respect any decision she would make. Susan finally went back to look at Peter and Caspian, completely trying to avoid Lucy's scared gaze.

Both Peter and Caspian were waiting for her answer in anticipation. Susan didn't realize only a few minutes had passed though it felt like hours to everyone. Completely avoiding the eyes of Peter and Caspian, she gave her answer. "Or die trying." She turned her head to completely look away. Her decision for some strange reason was causing her pain. Edmund sensed this and wordlessly walked over to where his sister was sitting and put a hand on each of her shoulders. She looked up at him and lightly smiled but otherwise did nothing else.

Lucy finally made herself heard. "That's what I'm worried about."

"Sorry?" Peter didn't exactly hear her.

"You're all acting like there's only two options…dying here or dying there." Lucy made it sound as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"I'm not sure you've really been listening, Lu."

Lucy was practically distressed by now. "No _you're _not listening, or have you forgotten who really defeated the white witch peter?"

She gave Peter a hard glare that was only returned by Peter's hard glare. After a few seconds of silence building tension, Peter responded to her. "I think we've waited for Aslan long enough."

Susan bowed her head in shame. Although no one else noticed, Edmund saw it as though it were as clear as day. He made a mental note to address this later one when they were in private. He knew his sister and he knew this was something that _needed_ to be addressed, especially in private.

Susan stood up and nodded her goodbye to everyone. She was the first to exit the room and soon everyone else had followed. By the way she left gave confirmation that this topic was definitely one that he would address with her later.

Everyone had left by now to get armor. Edmund trailed behind Susan, trying to catch up with her but was stopped when Peter called to him. "Ed!"

Edmund internally groaned but turned to face his older brother. "Yes."

"I need you back in the stone table room. Caspian and a few of the Narnian leaders are back in the room to discuss how we're going to do things. Being that you and not Susan had agreed with me In the first place and Susan seems to not want to talk, we want at least you to listen in on the plan."

Edmund tried not to groan again but complied. "Coming Peter." Edmund turned to face where Susan had left and noticed that she was already gone, probably to think. After staring in pain for his sister he finally followed Peter back in the stone table room.

Within a few hours, everyone was in their armor and knew the strategy. Lucy had given Edmund back his torch to use. Only half of the army was coming, thinking that it was enough. Everyone was outside of the How saying their goodbyes. Lucy was quietly disapproving in the back. Edmund and Susan were in the back of the How, Susan not showing any emotion and Edmund silently trailing her.

Susan looked ahead and saw Glenstorm next to his wife. His wife was saying goodbye to all of her sons. She then turned to Glenstorm. "You'll look after them." The two kissed in the way centaurs kissed and Glenstorm and his sons went to the front of the line leading the army to the Telmarine castle.

Edmund went ahead to where Peter and Caspian were standing, thinking that if he stood between them they wouldn't go at each other's throats before the actually raid. Susan turned around when she felt Lucy's gaze land on her.

Lucy was at first giving Peter a disappointed look until he turned around and kept moving. She made her way to the How and noticed Susan. The two sisters looked at each other. Susan still had a blank expression and Lucy was still slightly disappointed. Before Susan continued to catch up with the boys, Lucy quietly whispered something to her. "They shouldn't have to do this and you know it. Please bring back the queen who has kept everyone together for the past 1300 years. We need _her_."

Susan kept walking in silence after that. She spoke to no one after that encounter with Lucy.

_So kiss me and smile for me  
Tell me you'll wait for me  
Hold me like you'll never let me go  
'Cause I'm Leaving On A Jet Plane  
I don't know when I'll be back again  
I'll be, I hate to go…_

-Chorus of "Leaving On a Jet Plane" version by Chantal Kreviazuk

**Yes end of the chapter. I'm sorry especially after the super long wait. Happy New Year and Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!**

**Review Please!**

**-tin2lo**


	14. Chapter 14

**Yes I'm back on Fanfiction and it feels soooo good! I'm sorry and I really hope this chapter lived up to the wait. It's a little different, I'll give it that. Around 16 pages on word and over 9,000 words. I'm pretty sure that's a new record for me.**

_It's My Life  
It's now or never  
And I ain't gonna live forever  
I just wanna live while I'm alive  
(It's My Life)  
My heart is like an open highway  
Like Frankie said I did it my way  
I just wanna live while I'm alive  
It's My Life_

-Chorus of "It's My Life" by Bon Jovi

Although every single detail was planned from the minute of arrival to the thirteen second window of opportunity in which the guards turned in their pace and were not looking in the direction of which the Narnians would be entering, Susan couldn't help but feel the small pain in her head caused by her decision to agree to this raid in the first place. It could be because of the small fact that if any detail went wrong, if they were not at a specific location at a certain point in time then the entire operation would fail completely or maybe it was just skepticism.

Susan had pushed these thoughts from her head as she watched Edmund flying towards the castle securing in the clutches of a griffin. She knew her brother well enough to know that his side of the job would go well. Susan counted the seconds until she saw his torch flicker with the signal…several seconds passed and she started to worry. Of course it was only logical that would take longer than a minute to send the signal after disarming the guard but she still couldn't help but worry.

After almost two minutes, the signal was flashing as bright as one of the evening stars. She let out a sigh of relief and looked to her left at Peter and Caspian who were about to be lifted up by their griffins. She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see Glenstorm and the others. He looked at her and nodded his head. It was now or never. She nodded back to him and to the Griffin to allow him to take her up. She kept an arrow propped on her bow just in case. As she got into the air, she saw the boys taking the lead almost as if they were competing with each other over who would kill the soldier first, who would land first, etc. Was everything a competition with these boys?

Eventually Caspian was able to slay one of the soldiers until he was taken up by his griffin again. Susan shot at another soldier who was about to kill the flickering light which happened to be Edmund and Peter killed the final soldier as he landed. So far everything was going according to plan. Susan didn't need to worry about her troops below who were dealing with the guards in front of the gate. Nikabrik and Asterius took down the guards near the bridge area while Reepicheep and his team took down the inner guard…or rather the guard cat.

At the same time in another tower, Peter and Caspian had draped a rope in front of one of the windows. Caspian was determined to free his professor from this castle just as the professor helped him several nights ago. Caspian climbed down the rope first and tried calling for the professor to open the window but there was no movement. After a while, Caspian instead picked the lock of the window with ease using his dagger. Peter climbed down next entered the room as well. Susan and Trumpkin were the only ones left to climb down. Susan made it down with ease and held the rope for Trumpkin to climb down. Unfortunately, one lost step caused him to tip back and drop the hat he was wearing and reflexes made him lean back even more to grab it. Susan could see him about to fall but was able to grab him before he either fell to his death or his fallen hat gave away their cover. After the initial shock wore off from Trumpkin's face, he looked at the Gentle Queen and back down at a soldier who would've spotted them. The soldier suspected nothing. Trumpkin looked back at Susan's face to see fear etched all over it. Susan took a breath before she pulled him back up. Shock was still visable on Trumpkin's face but he didn't break eye contact with Susan. She had saved his life for a second time but he couldn't manage a simple thank you. She gave a gentle smile signaling that nothing needed to be said and that she understood. Trumpkin walked in while shaking the shock off. Although Trumpkin didn't know the queen well, the only thought that passed through his head was _Maybe it's alright to trust them after all._

Susan and Trumpkin walked into the room to see Peter and Caspian examining everything. Peter was walking around the room noticing everything from the solar system display to the books on the shelves. Peter read a few of the spines. Those in full view were books about the beginnings of Telmarine society, the line of Kings in Telmarine history, and, Peter gulped before reading the next series of books on the shelf, the Fall of the Narnians and the Rise of the Telmarines – A Ten Part Book Series. Caspian was examining the paperwork on the Professor's desk. His desk was usually organized and there would be nothing on ancient Narnia on it to protect their secret but when Caspian examined it there were papers ruffled surrounding the entire desk as well as the floor – as if someone was searching for something in particular. The fact that every piece of paper had something about the Pevensies on it also brought suspicions. There was even a picture of the four together during the Golden Age riding on their horses protecting the land but it had a hole on a horse's heart. There was one more thing that Caspian found that worried him. The professor's spectacles were left on his desk when normally it would be taken with him wherever he went. Caspian now knew what happened. The secret was found out and Professor Cornelius was taken.

He held onto the spectacles and looked at the other three. "I have to find him."

Peter couldn't believe what he was hearing. One step out of place could mean their downfall. "You don't have time. You need to get the gate open."

There was no time to reassign the jobs listed but Caspian was persistent. He gave Peter a stern look. "You wouldn't even be here without him…and neither would I."

Peter thought hard at what Caspian had just said. True, Caspian did receive Susan's horn through Cornelius and that was what brought him and Lucy back as well as Caspian would've been dead by now had he not been warned but Peter did not like change and his mind was made up.

Susan didn't see the harm in it and she too wanted to rescue the poor professor. She put a hand on her brother's shoulder. "You and I can deal with Miraz." Peter's glare was hard but he soon had no choice but to agree.

"And I can still get to the gate in time." Caspian was confident that even with the minor setback, he'd still be able to get everything done right.

Peter was clearly outnumbered. "Fine, Trumpkin you will have to take one of the griffins and help Ed get rid of the sentries on the towers then go back and help Reepicheep get the drawbridge down." Trumpkin sheathed his sword and told Peter he knew what to do. Peter looked at Caspian after Trumpkin had left the room. "You better get that gate open before the drawbridge goes down." Caspian nodded and with that, all three of them left the room to continue with the infiltration.

Unfortunately, they were not able to get far. Trumpkin walked back in the room to face the other three. He warned them that there was only one exit which was down the corridor but Caspian had made Susan and Peter wait before going through. Caspian listened carefully and could hear soldiers talking on the other side.

Peter, though never admitting it, did not know what to do for once. "Drat! How are we going to get passed without raising the alarm?"

Very quickly, Caspian remembered something important. "Hold on. Cornelius once told me of a secret passage to his room somewhere in the astronomy area." The three of them quickly went back to figure out how to leave without climbing back through the window since there was no other way without the griffins who had already left for their designated waiting/hiding area.

The four of them looked around the room for anything that could be used to open some kind of secret passage. Peter pulled at the books to see if any would trigger a door or something, Caspian ruffled more papers for answers, Trumpkin looked in places too small for the others, and Susan cross examined the room. She noticed the astronomy display. A giant sphere was in the center of a pedestal which represented the sun. Under the giant sphere but above the pedestal of which it sat on, were nine points protruding from it. Each point was a different length away from the sun. On each point sat another sphere. The small spheres would circle the larger one – a diagram of the orbit.

She smiled. The display had the planets all circling the giant sun in the center. Her mind immediately went to the day of their coronation. She was given the Radiant Southern Sun. For a while she wondered as to why but she never questioned Aslan. She circled the display and slowly her smile would fade. Three of the spheres were missing from their respectable places as well as their spots were slightly higher in elevation as opposed to the other spheres which were the same elevation. Susan looked around for three more of the exact same spheres.

Although Peter, Trumpkin, and Caspian were getting antsy because they had found nothing while Susan was able to find all three of the spheres within ten minutes. The three boys gave her weird looks as to why she smiled when she found them but said nothing besides, stranger things have happened. She figured out that once you put the sphere in its place, the elevation would sink to the same elevation as the ones that were already there. When Susan finally found the third sphere, Peter needed to know what was so important in finishing an astronomy diagram.

"Really Su? The entire room is messed up. Do you really have some sort of need to clean the place up starting with this diagram? We're on a tight schedule as it is." He glared at Caspian when saying his last sentence only because he still felt that it was Caspian's fault that they were stuck in that room anyway.

"Relax Pete…I'm pretty sure this is our way out. And I do not have an obsessive need to keep things tidy!" Peter gave her a skeptical look before she turned around and put the final sphere in its rightful place. Peter, in a rare moment, looked at Caspian and Trumpkin in a tender face and whispered "Yeah she does." Caspian quietly chuckled but was silenced when they saw what Susan's "excessive cleaning" had lead to. A secret door behind one of the bookshelves had opened leading to a way out. Susan looked at the three boys with a triumphant smile.

The four of them walked down the dark tunnel but soon made it to the hallways. The hallway had lead to two more areas. One was a foyer with only one door being guarded by two soldiers and a bell. Caspian looked. "If those guards ring the bell the whole castle will know we are here."

"We'll just have to go the other way." Peter then began leading them in the other direction. The door they went through was completely clear. It was able to lead them to a smaller courtyard then the ones they hoped the Narnians would enter. The courtyard had two doors – one that leads to the towers and another that leads to the dungeons. This courtyard was wear the Griffins had been told to wait. They had already silently taken out the guards. Edmund was waiting with them.

Peter explained to them what was about to happen and the new changes. "Ed, take down the tower sentries, Trumpkin will go with you. Caspian will find his professor and after he'll go to the gate. Susan and I will take Miraz."

Edmund looked grave. "It's not that simple. Tower Sentries is a two person job and the drawbridge needs to go down immediately."

Peter sighed. "Fine. Trumpkin, you go find Reepicheep so you can get started with drawbridge. I'm going with Ed and the Griffins to get rid of all the sentries on the towers. We have to make sure that we do it before any sound the alarm. Caspian will get Cornelius and then go back for the gate."

Edmund again looked at Peter. "I think Susan should go with Caspian. I looked inside the dungeon by accident to see if you guys were there and you won't believe what I saw."

The group opened the door that lead to the dungeon to find out that they were standing on a balcony in the giant room. Large cages were hanging from the ceiling and one guard was on the ground. There was one lever that pulled one rope for each cage. Peter thought it'd be easy because there was only one guard but Caspian warned him. "That is not a normal soldier." Everyone else noticed as well. He may have been one man but he was tall, muscular, and was barely covered by protective armor signaling that he was tougher and stronger than the normal soldier clad in armor. He was practically a monster – an inhumane monster, even more so than the other Telmarine soldiers.

There was only one cage on the ground. The guard tried pulling at the lever but it wouldn't budge. Instead he yelled loud enough to wake the whole castle (plus the echo of the room made it loud enough for all of Narnia to hear) and kicked the lever causing the cage to fly up and hit the ceiling hard that the sound of the metal hitting the ceiling left a clanging in their ears. Susan made her decision. She looked at Caspian. "I'm going with you. You can't do it on your own." Caspian agreed even though Peter had a hard expression. The group split up to do each of their jobs knowing that time was limited. Peter told them to meet up on the tallest tower when everyone finished with their current job.

Trumpkin quickly but quietly ran down to the other hallway to make it back into the foyer area. This was the only way to make it to control room for the drawbridge. Before he continued and made himself seen, he quickly shot at the soldier closest to the bell. With his skills in archery, he was able to shoot down the soldier before he even saw anything coming as well as take the second soldier down before he even had a chance to make it to the bell and sound the alarm. He quickly ran through the door. Now all was left was taking the hallway routes Caspian tried to explain to him to get to the control room. After dodging and hiding from passing soldiers, he was able to make it to the control room door which was locked. Now it was up to Reepicheep to unlock the door and let him in.

Reepicheep and his group of swashbuckling mice entered the castle in a way only mice could. They climbed up the side of the castle and crawled on the ropes allowing for easy access into the control room. Before Reepicheep unlocked the door for Trumpkin, they decided to have some fun and in a way "disarmed" an innocent sleeping cat and tied him up in a way that was ironically identical to that of Aslan's binds several centuries ago.

Of course seeing a poor, defenseless little cat tied up in rope is an odd sight which is why when a guard had walked into the room doing his nightly run, he immediately knew something was wrong when he saw the cat. Unfortunately, or possibly fortunately, the guard could not inquire this thought any further because the second he turned, he was face to face with an odd looking…mouse?

And as if the mouse heard what he was thinking, the mouse responded. "Yes, I'm a mouse." And before the guard could think any more of this talking mouse, the mouse quickly killed him, thus allowing the other mice to open the locked door for Trumpkin right after the killing of a few more guards who were also doing their nightly run. The second the door was opened for Trumpkin, Trumpkin immediately shot another arrow to kill the guard that had just recently entered from the opposite side. And now the only thing the mice and dwarf had to do was to wait for the signal and to open the drawbridge.

Reepicheep looked at who he opened the locked door for. "Oh, we were expecting someone…you know…taller."

Trumpkin just looked at the mouse with an expressionless face. "You're one to talk…"

Reepicheep was slowly walking away at this point. "What's that supposed to be…irony?" Trumpkin just rolled his eyes and continued with his mission.

With Peter and Edmund…

The two brothers had each taken a griffin and started on killing the sentries on the towers. They would fly high and land swiftly and quietly on the tower and take on the guards as quietly as they could. After which they would hide the body so that there would be no suspicions and move on to the next tower.

After taking down three of the towers, Edmund looked at Peter and realized something was wrong. While they were hiding the bodies, Edmund finally decided to ask. "Alright, out with it. Usually I can't get you to shut up about what I could possibly do wrong. Have you really changed so much without me?"

Peter just looked at him. "Maybe if you haven't noticed, we're in the middle of an infiltration plan."

Edmund just scoffed at him. "So? That usually doesn't stop you. No matter how little of a thing I'm doing wrong, you're going to tell me anyway. So why are you so quiet now? I even deliberately left a guy's body visible so that you would complain I was being sloppy when it came to hiding it but all you did was move the body yourself."

"Well maybe I have changed within the year."

"Yeah right. So I'm guessing that constipated look on your face is permanent change as well or maybe it's because of all the dead bodies we've had to dispose of?"

At this Peter blushed. He hadn't realized that he'd been making a face. Edmund wanted to laugh out loud but refrained from doing so. But Edmund did realize something. He'd seen that look before. Peter usually had it when…a new suitor of Susan's visited the castle. Edmund smiled. "Oh I get it now. You're worried about Susan being with Prince Caspian." This time Edmund actually did laugh and Peter glared at him.

"Alright fine, I'm worried for her. Is it my fault for wanting to protect her since I couldn't do it for the past few hundred years. Not that you haven't and all but you know what I mean."

Edmund smiled. "Relax Pete. Susan's a grown woman. She wouldn't compromise a situation because she was making eyes with a potential suitor. You can trust her."

Peter grumbled. "It's not her I don't trust." Edmund pretended not to hear. He just hoped that this wasn't the calm before the storm in his and Caspian's relationship. The two avoided the conversation for the rest of the time.

Meanwhile…

Susan and Caspian carefully walked down the stairs from the balcony entrance to the ground. They made sure to hide behind the railing when walking down. While on the balcony, they realized that Cornelius was not in any of the cages. He was probably in one of the cages in the other room. The Telmarines technically had two dungeons, one entrance, and no escape. The only way to get to the second dungeon was to pass through the first which, in their case, was guarded by a giant brute.

Caspian and Susan looked around and tried to figure out how to take down the monster. They realized that only one of the cages were broken…the door to open it was locked and broken as well as the bottom of the cage was completely missing. Susan and Caspian smiled at each other. It almost seemed too perfect. After a minute of planning what to do and waiting to do it, Susan had to wonder if it would've been easier and quicker to just take a slingshot and a rock and just let Aslan guide its movements. She pushed the thought to the back of her head.

Caspian had lunged at the guard and the two had begun to fight. While Caspian was distracting the guard, she was supposed to pull the lever of the broken cage and trap him. The guard was throwing monstrous hits (no surprise there) and Caspian was getting tired shielding himself from the attack. When he noticed Susan at the lever he used all the force he could muster to push the guard back so that he was completely under the cage. Susan pulled the lever but instead of the cage they were hoping for, the cage across the room (a perfectly fine one) fell instead. The cage fell down with a loud bang. Of course the Telmarines mixed the levers – escape from the dungeon was never an option even if they had an accomplice to help. There were only two other levers. Caspian yelled at her "Find the right one! Hurry!" Susan knew she had to hurry because Caspian looked like he was ready to give and the monster still hadn't broken a sweat.

Susan pulled each of the two levers but when the cage fell, she immediately pulled the lever back to stop it from making any more noise. She had tried both levers and neither of them worked. There were no other levers. There had to be something she could do. She looked next to her to find that the room was lit by a larger version of a torch. The fire burnt brightly and it gave her an idea. She looked back up at the cage. It was held by a rope. She smiled. She lit one of her arrows on fire. She looked at Caspian. He and the monster were directly below. "Caspian!" Caspian looked at her and immediately when he saw the burning arrow, he knew what she was thinking. Caspian gave the guard one more hard push as Susan shot her arrow at the rope holding the cage. The arrow stuck to the thick rope but the flames burned through it quickly. Caspian lunged out of the way and the guard was trapped behind the metal bars when the cage fell.

Susan let out a breath of relief. "Are you alright?" She looked at Caspian who was breathing heavily with his hands on his knees.

He just smiled at her, glad that the hard part was over. "Yes, thank you." He took several more breaths before standing up straight again.

Susan looked at the trapped guard. "Shouldn't we do something about him? What if he tries to yell for help or makes too much noise?" The two of them looked back at the guard. He was grunting and pulling against the bars as if he thought he could break them down. After a few more seconds, he reached into his pocket and pulled out what looked to be a bitten chicken leg. He smiled and took another bite out of it.

Susan and Caspian looked at him disgusted. "No I think he'll be fine." The two finally walked through the double doors leading to the second dungeon area. The room was just as large as the previous one with more cages hanging from the ceiling. All of them were empty except for the one in the center which had a sleeping professor in it.

Caspian looked at it closely. "That's the one." He pointed. "He is in there." Susan, along with Caspian this time, pulled at levers again to find the correct one. Both of them realized that the faster you pulled at the lever the faster it would either fall or lift. When they found the right cage, Susan and Caspian had to work together to gently and slowly pulled the lever to lower the cage being that they didn't want to hurt the professor.

When the cage gently hit the floor, Caspian immediately ran to it. The door was locked. He had completely forgotten about a key. He looked at Susan. "That guard most likely has the key. How are we supposed to get it from him without another fight?"

Susan thought hard. Maybe they didn't need a key. She looked at Caspian. "I think I can it." He looked at her confused. "Just trust me." He nodded and allowed her to continue.

She pulled a pin from her hair and started picking at the lock. Within a few seconds the door opened. Caspian was shocked. "Where did you learn to do that?"

She simply looked at him and said "My brother…Peter…a long time ago." Caspian smiled. She just kept surprising him, and now it seems that there were things about King Peter he didn't know about either. He pushed the thought aside and entered the cage. He shook Cornelius awake.

Cornelius stirred and turned to his backside to see he was face to face with Caspian again, except in reverse situations. Caspian spoke the exact same words he did when Cornelius woke him up the night he escaped. "Five more minutes…"

Cornelius was shocked but when he realized that Caspian was real and not a dream, he was angry. "What are you doing here. I didn't help you escape just so you could break back in." Caspian looked at the shackles around his feet and hands. He motioned for Susan to come over and she picked at the locks until they came off. She smiled at the professor and he bowed his head as a show of respect. He didn't expect to meet the legendary queen under these circumstances.

Caspian spoke again before the professor could. "There's no time to talk, we must get to the tower immediately. The professor thought that they were finally leaving the castle together so he decided not to speak anymore and followed them. Making it through the hallways was easier since the others had taken down the guards already. There were only two guards blocking the door they needed but Cornelius put them to sleep using magic. Other than that, their trip to the high tower was simple and silent. No words needed to be exchanged.

Susan and Caspian actually began to wonder why there were no guards in the hallways but once they made it to the top of the tower, they received their answer. Peter and Edmund were already at the tower but they were surrounded by a group of Telmarines with no escape besides jumping off. The griffins had already flown to their waiting area. Peter and Edmund were fighting a group the two of them versus the other ten. There was a reason this tower was chosen as the meeting area. It was not only the largest but it held a giant bell in the center of it as well…the largest in the Telmarine castle and ironically enough, the only bell not used as an alarm. In order to get to Peter and Edmund on the other side of the tower was to walk around the giant bell.

Susan was about to run to them to help them but she was met by a giant Chieftain Telmarine. A chieftain was practically the monster they met in the dungeon only that every piece of skin was clad in armor. Defeating one would be just as difficult. The chieftain was coming for Susan but Caspian quickly pulled the bell's rope causing the bell to swing and hit the chieftain. The chieftain was hit hard enough that he fell off the tower. Caspian looked at where the chieftain just fell. "Saved by the bell." He smiled back at Susan who smiled her thanks to him.

The two of them ran to Peter and Edmund and helped them fight off the group of Telmarines although most were already either dead or were pushed off the tower. Once Peter killed the last one, everyone waited to catch their breath.

Peter looked at Edmund and smiled. "It looks like we're out of Telmarines." He said it as though it was just a game they were playing.

Edmund was kneeling on the ground taking deep breaths. He spoke in a sarcastic tone. "Oh what a shame."

Susan helped her brother up and chuckled. "It's been 1300 years, I think you're getting too old for this stuff, Ed."

Edmund glared at her. "Oh ha ha very funny, Su."

Peter spoke now. "Alright we're done here already. Susan, you and I are dealing with Miraz. Caspian, get the gate open for the other Narnians."

Edmund finally caught his breath. "You guys should go already. I still have a job to do here."

Everyone nodded their agreement. Caspian gave Susan and Peter the directions to Miraz's chambers. Everyone ran out the entrance where Caspian, Susan, and the professor entered from. Peter left first with Susan behind him. Cornelius was told to wait in the courtyard for the other Narnians but before Caspian left the tower, Cornelius tried to warn him. "You can't do this Caspian. You have to get out before Miraz learns you're here."

Caspian looked at him. "He's going to learn soon enough." Caspian tried running out but the professor stopped him and pulled his arm hard, forcing Caspian to face him.

Cornelius spoke in a hushed but grave tone. "Don't underestimate Miraz as your father did."

Caspian was just shocked at the news he had just heard, not quite truly believing it. "What are you talking about?"

The professor couldn't believe what he had just revealed to Caspian. All he could say was "I'm sorry." Caspian had already pushed the professor off him and ran out of the Tower.

Meanwhile…

Susan and Peter were running through the halls following the directions Caspian gave them. Both could feel the tension in the air. Peter couldn't stop giving Susan disappointed looks. Finally, Susan had enough of it. "Peter, if you have something to say then just say it for Aslan's sake!"

Peter gave her a hard glare. "I don't know maybe I shouldn't speak because no matter what I do, you're always turning against me. You're letting that pretty boy mess up your judgment!"

Susan was shocked. "What? First of all, he has a name." Peter just rolled his eyes. "And second, my judgment is perfectly fine. Did it ever occur to you that not all of your ideas are brilliant? Did you ever think that maybe staying at the How would have been better? Before you came, we were always safe at the How."

Peter didn't look at her, they just kept moving through hallways. "Well maybe that's why it's been 1300 years with no progress." Peter still didn't look at Susan, though it didn't matter. What Peter said had stung Susan but she knew that what he had just said was the truth which only made it hurt more. No matter how much his statement had hurt her, she didn't show it in her face…or at least tried not to show it in her face. The rest of their journey to Miraz's chambers was in silence.

They finally made it to the hallway of which Miraz's chambers were supposed to be. They stood in front of the door. Susan got her bow and arrow ready and Peter had his sword out. He pushed the door open but what he saw was not what he was expecting. Miraz wasn't there. The only things that were, were dressers, toys, and…a crib?

Peter looked inside and scoffed. "Where did _that_ come from?"

Susan then looked inside the crib to see a baby awake and rubbing his face. She rolled her eyes at her brother. "Mum never had that talk with you." She stated it rather than asked. She laughed to herself. What had she missed in that year in England?

The two ran back out of the room and tried to find Miraz's real chambers. After running through a few more hallways, they finally made it to the room. It was the largest door in the whole hallway so it had to be the one. Peter and Susan were about to barge in until they heard noise from the inside.

It sounded like a man. "Thank goodness. You're safe." Susan knew that voice all too well. It was Miraz. But who was he talking to?

Peter and Susan kept listening. There was another voice. "Get up." It sounded like…Caspian! The only thing that went through Peter's head was _I'm going to kill him if he messes this up_.

A third voice was heard through the door. It sounded female. It must've been Miraz's wife. "Caspian?"

Caspian spoke again but to the third voice this time. "Stay where you are."

The woman spoke again. "What are you doing here?"

Miraz spoke after her. "I should think it's obvious, dear." Caspian must have had a sword pointed at Miraz and that was the scene his wife probably had woken up to. Miraz was still talking. "You know some families might consider this inappropriate behavior."

Caspian was angry because of the information he recently learned. "That doesn't seem to have stopped _you._"

But Miraz knew Caspian. "But you are not like me, are you?" He knew his nephew. He was weak and prided himself on the differences between uncle and nephew. "It's sad. The first time you show any backbone, and it's such a waste."

Behind the door, Susan and Peter could hear a clicking noise. Susan recognized it as an arrow being notched into a crossbow. They heard the woman speak. "Put the sword down Caspian. I don't want to do this."

Peter and Susan knew she was the one with the crossbow and knew she was threatening Caspian. They immediately barged into the room to stop her from killing him. "We don't want you to either." Susan held her bow aimed at Caspian's aunt.

Miraz put his hands on his hips and faced Peter and Susan. "This used to be a private room." The siblings ignored him.

Peter looked at Caspian. "What are you doing? You're supposed to be in the gatehouse."

Caspian just yelled, clearly infuriated. "NO! Tonight for once, I want the truth." He pushed the sword closer to Miraz's throat causing him to back into the wall. Caspian's eyes held intense anger. He emphasized every word. "Did you kill my father?"

Miraz knew this would be coming. "Now we can do it."

Caspian understood and apparently so did his aunt. She didn't lower her weapon but she looked at her husband. "You said that your brother died in his sleep."

Miraz didn't look at her. "That was more or less true." She knew her husband had done some wrong things but nothing to this extent.

Susan knew exactly what Caspian wanted at this point…revenge. But she also knew it wasn't the time. Without lowering her weapon she spoke to Caspian. "Caspian this won't make things any better."

He quickly looked in the direction of her voice but went back to staring at Miraz as though he thought Miraz would escape in the time he turned to face her. As though no one heard Susan, Miraz spoke to Caspian still. "We Telmarines would have nothing had we not taken it. Your father knew that as well as anyone."

Miraz's wife finally began to lower her weapon as she stared at her husband in disbelief and shock. "How could you?"

Miraz finally looked at her. "For the same reason you will pull the trigger…for our _son._" Miraz finally started to move closer to Caspian although the sword was still at his throat. Caspian backed away a little and his aunt told him to stop but Susan stopped her as well.

Blood was dripping from Miraz's neck but he eyed Caspian as he spoke to his wife. "You need to make a choice, dear. Do you want our child to be king? Or do you want him to be like Caspian here….fatherless!"

She screamed as she shot her arrow at Caspian's arm. "NO!" Caspian dropped the sword and grabbed the arm she just shot. In reaction, Susan shot his aunt in the arm as well causing her to scream even louder. During all of this, Miraz was able to escape.

In one of the towers next to the courtyard, Edmund had been casually twirling the torch of his that Lucy had brought back from England. When he heard a woman's loud scream, he was so shocked that he had dropped it a level below him where a guard had picked it up. The guard started to examine it and accidentally turned it on, nearly blinding him for a few seconds. When the alarms started ringing, he twirled the torch around in the direction of the alarms. The Narnians outside waiting were confused. "What's that supposed to mean?" Nonetheless, they waited for their correct signal. Edmund jumped on top of the guard to get his torch back.

Susan, Peter, and Caspian (who was clutching his wounded arm) were running through the halls again. They could hear the troops being signaled as well as hear them get ready. Peter was running in a different direction than Susan and Caspian. Susan tried to get his attention. She knew he still wanted this plan to work. "Peter!"

Peter turned to look at her. "Our troops are just outside come on." Susan and Caspian looked at each other but followed him anyway.

When Peter finally made it to the courtyard, he yelled loud for Edmund to hear. "Now Ed now! Signal the troops!"

Unfortunately, Edmund was in the middle of a fight with the guard who had taken his torch. "I'm a bit busy, Pete."

While Edmund was fighting the guard, two more came in front of Peter to stop him from opening the gate. In under a minute, Peter had killed both guards and still ran for the gate. Edmund was still fighting his guard. The Telmarine had knocked his torch and his sword out of his hands and swung at him but Edmund was quick. He ducked and picked up the first thing he could reach which was his torch and killed the Telmarine with several hits to the head with his torch. When Edmund tried to turn it on though, it refused to. "Oh no." He hit it several times to try and turn it on but it still wouldn't.

Peter was already turning the wheel of the mechanism to open the gate. At the same time, Trumpkin and Reepicheep were just now lowering the drawbridge. They had encountered several technical difficulties when lowering the bridge such as missing pieces and several more guards trying to sabotage them. They were able to get the bridge down before Peter opened the gate.

Susan and Caspian finally reached him. Susan was trying to reason with him again. "Peter it's too late. We have to call it off while we still can."

Peter was adamant and too stubborn to agree. "No I can still do this." He looked at Caspian and Susan. "Help me!" Soldiers were already heading their way. Caspian and Susan looked at each other. Caspian sheathed his sword and both ran to help Peter.

Outside the Narnians were getting restless. Susan looked at her brother while still pulling on the wheel counterclockwise. "Exactly who are you doing this for, Peter?" He didn't respond so they just kept working.

Edmund was still hitting his torch. "Come on." He too was getting anxious until finally it lit up. It took him a second to realize it but immediately gave out the signal.

Glenstorm saw it and yelled with his sword and front hooves in the air "Charge!" Asterius and Glenstorm lead the charge to the front. Asterius used his horns to push a Telmarine off the bridge and move on. When Peter, Susan, and Caspian saw Asterius and the other Narnians, they stopped opening the gate. Peter and Caspian took out their swords and Susan took out her bow and arrow. Peter yelled "For Narnia!" The battle had begun.

The Narnians killed anyone in their path. The centaurs and minotaurs took the lower levels while the fauns climbed up higher to kill the guards in the upper levels. Each of them had their own fighting style. Peter and Caspian sliced anyone in their way and Susan shot her arrows at soldiers from afar or stabbed them if they were too close as well as threw a few of her arrows when there was no time to put it in the bow. Several soldiers were dead in minutes and not a single Narnian casualty.

Susan stopped for a second and looked around. Telmarines with crossbows were on one of the upper levels completely surrounded the courtyard and were threatening to shoot. Edmund saw one of them was aiming directly at Peter. No matter where Peter would go, he was sure to get hit. Edmund slid down the roof and kicked the Telmarine off.

Peter looked up at where Edmund was and realized something. "Ed!"

Edmund looked next to him to see that the other soldiers had realized what just happened and were already aiming at him. Edmund jumped through the door he was next too and while they were shooting at him, he quickly kicked the door shut. Edmund couldn't be right there now, he need to find another area.

Miraz finally went to the balcony to see what was happening. He saw that his troops were badly losing and the only thing that separated them from victory and defeat were the Telmarine archers. Peter looked up and saw Miraz. He looked at one of the satyrs, Tyrus, and motioned for him to follow.

Peter climbed up the stairs to Miraz, killing soldiers in his way while Tyrus jumped from banister to banister. When Tyrus finally made it to Miraz's balcony, he had his sword ready. Miraz backed away in fear but before Tyrus could stab him in his cold heart, he was shot in the arm by General Glozelle with a crossbow. Tyrus couldn't move much so Miraz took the opportunity to push him off the balcony.

Peter watched Tyrus' body hit one banister hard before hitting the ground. He was the first to die.

Peter heard Miraz say something to one of his soldiers. "Get that gate closed."

Things started to go wrong. Edmund who had locked and trapped himself in one of the high towers realized there was no way out now that soldiers tried to barge their way in. Trumpkin who was still in the drawbridge control room was looking out the window at the fight but noticed that soldiers had broken the door down and were after him. He killed one with his bow and arrow but the other hit him hard across the face and caused him to fall out of the room and land on his head where the fighting was occurring. Peter also noticed that guards were cutting the balances off of the gate which would make the gate close trapping them all inside.

Asterius also noticed what was happening and quickly grabbed and lifted the gate with all the strength he had before it closed down on them. Peter knew now it was time to end it. They didn't have much time left before the minotaur gave in. The time was now. "Fall back!" When Caspian heard that, he immediately ran in the other direction. Peter ran down the stairs and called every Narnian. "We need to retreat now." He killed more people in his way. He saw Susan still fighting in the middle of the courtyard and he saw Glenstorm running in her direction. He screamed loud enough for both of them to hear. "Go. Get her out of here." He pointed towards Susan. "Run for the gate."

Glenstorm quickly ran towards Susan and grabbed her hand. She pulled on his arm and jumped onto him. Susan turned her head to face her brother. She knew where Edmund. Before Glenstorm had taken her, he she looked to the sky in hopes of finding her younger brother. She saw that he was cornered by a couple Telmarines but after looking down and then back at the soldiers, he let himself fall only to be caught by a Griffin. Edmund was safe now but where was Caspian? She yelled to Peter "Caspian!"

Peter knew what she meant. They needed him hence he needed to find him. But where was he? "I'll find him." Before Peter moved on, he waited to make sure that Glenstorm and his sister were safely passed the gate. Glenstorm had to kill a few soldiers in his way but otherwise made it out quickly and smoothly. While Peter was running around looking for Caspian he went to a few other Narnians and told them to leave and retreat. Peter looked back at Asterius. It wouldn't be long until he gave in. Where was Caspian?

When Peter had first called for a retreat, Caspian had run in the other direction. Although it seemed odd, he needed to find his professor who was currently in the stable area. The professor had told Caspian that he would wait in the comfort and safety of the stables and Caspian hadn't remembered that conversation until last minute, in which case he ran for the direction of the stable.

He ran through the stables and quickly found the professor saddling up three horses. "Professor, we must go now. We will all die if we stay here any longer."

Cornelius nodded his head in disapproval but spoke to Caspian anyway. "I had feared this the second you went to pursue your uncle." He sighed heavily. "Miraz may have won this battle but we can still win this war. Get on the horse, Caspian and take this other one for King Peter. I doubt his griffin will be able to fly low enough without getting shot at."

Caspian helped his professor get on one of the horses and then jumped on Destier whom he hadn't seen since their separation in the woods. He held the other horse for Peter in his left hand. The professor rode behind him and they quickly made their way out of the stables.

When they finally made it back into the courtyard, Caspian noticed that many of the Narnian soldiers had already made it out while some still kept on fighting, including Peter. He then noticed that Peter was looking at something. He followed Peter's gaze and it landed on Miraz's figure at the top of a balcony. Miraz was standing next to Glozelle who had his hand raised. Caspian knew what was going to happen. Once Glozelle gave the signal, the Telmarine archers would fire at will on the Narnians. Caspian and Peter both looked at each other. They all needed to leave now.

Miraz saw Caspian and saw that he was about to escape. He couldn't let that happen again. "Give the order."

Death was nearing for the Narnians. Both Peter and Caspian could feel it. Peter was still yelling to fall back as he ran for the horse Caspian had brought out for him. Peter finally made it to the horse but the horse was still galloping. He remembered a move Susan had done when she and Edmund were under cover terrorizing the Telmarine builders. They were hiding from the builders in Beruna and they didn't know that it was Susan and Edmund leading the attack as well as their heads were covered…but now he knew. He told himself he would try it and he was going to do it right now. Peter took a deep breath, grabbed the horse tighter, kicked a Telmarine that was in his way, jumped on to the horse and galloped on. He let go of the breath he didn't realize he'd been holding but he was on now and it was time to escape.

Miraz could see that they were close to freedom and he wouldn't allow it. He grabbed Glozelle's crossbow, aimed for Asterius, and gave the others the signal. "Now!"

At slightly different times, the soldiers shot at the Narnians. Some were hit and fell. Asterius was hit in the leg but still held the gate up. When Asterius saw the last remaining royals heading for him, he used the last of what was left with his strength and lifted the gate as high as he could. Caspian and Cornelius got out before Peter. Peter and some others were the last ones to make it out before Asterius finally collapsed, the heavy gate crushing his body until he made his final breath. Only Reepicheep and his fellow mice soldiers were able to crawl in the gap left.

Although there were several warnings and little time, many Narnians were still trapped behind the gate, getting shot at and being killed. Before Peter continued across the drawbridge, he looked back at the Narnians being left behind. They all yelled different things so some didn't register with him. He looked back at his sister who had protected them for so long. Her face was grave but she put a comforting hand on Glenstorm's shoulder. He finally noticed Glenstorm's face. He held a sad expression and had his head down. Peter looked back at the group of trapped Narnians. One was a young centaur…Glenstorm's son. He would die among them.

Peter was just stunned into silence. What broke him out of his trance was hearing Caspian call his name. "Peter, the bridge!" Peter looked back at the group that did make it out. He realized what separated them was the drawbridge of which was already being brought back up by the Telmarines. Peter pulled himself together and galloped across the bridge. He and his horse were able to jump the gap created from the bridge being lifted and moved on. Everyone just wanted to leave the area as soon as possible without looking back. If anyone did look back, they would only see the last few glimpses of faces that would be dead soon.

Edmund, who was still riding the griffin, had flown around the perimeter to make sure that there were no stray Narnians anywhere but once he made it over the courtyard area, what he saw stunned him. There were several dead Narnian bodies lying next to the dead Telmarine bodies. Edmund actually saw the final breath of a satyr before his head lolled over dead with the rest of them. The soldiers he and his sister had looked after and cared for, half of them were dead. He flew over the group of escaped Narnians, the last of his soldiers, and looked to where Susan was. As though she could feel eyes staring at her, she looked to the sky where Edmund was flying. They looked at each other as though they were having their own private conversation. If there was one thing that they both had agreed on that night it was simple…this battle was over before it began.  
_  
And you can't fight the tears that ain't coming  
Or the moment of truth in your lies  
When everything feels like the movies  
Yeah you bleed just to know you're alive_

_And I don't want the world to see me  
'Cause I don't think that they'd understand  
When everything's made to be broken  
I just want you to know who I am_

_-_Second verse and chorus of "Iris" by Goo Goo Dolls

**So again, I hope this chapter was worth the wait. It was a little difficult since I tried to make it different from the movie. So I added clips from the videogame and it wasn't as easy to arrange as I thought it would be as well as some things were not easy to describe. I also referenced chapter 7 in case you thought I was lying 'bout something. I even added a small bible story reference which I'm actually very proud of since I thought of it on the spot as well as a line from the movie "The Patriot."**

**Read and Review please!**

**-tin2lo**


	15. Chapter 15

**Did I ever tell you guys how bad my life sucks? Well it does currently and now you know.**

**Disclaimer: See above comment – if anything was mine, maybe my life would suck less. Sigh…anything familiar is not mine…but you already know that.**

Today was the day. Him, Miraz, second son of Caspian IX, has finally defeated the Narnians. Now it was time for him to take the throne. He proved himself and today was his coronation. He was dressed in his best robes and was ready to finally take the crown. Soon, the doors were opened…it was time. The lords were all standing in front of their respectable seats all dressed in their best as well. General Glozelle was standing near his throne. It felt good to say that…_his_ throne. The chandelier above him was gently flickering. The man was now reading off the loyalties that were now to be pledged to Miraz as Miraz walked to the throne.

"Beruna pledges its troops. Galma pledges its troops. Ardvark pledges its troops. Ettinsmoor pledges its troops!"

Miraz finally made it to the front of the throne. I went down on one knee while Sopespian placed a crown on his head. He grabbed his cape and turned. When he finally sat down on the throne, everyone bowed to him. He was now the king of Narnia and he was going to get rid of those Narnians if it was the last thing he did.

The army was tired. It had been a long night. The sun was slowly rising upon the horizon. Edmund looked at the sunrise. It was more red than yellow or orange. Susan noticed as well. Edmund and Susan looked at each other. They both thought the same thing…the red on the horizon, blood had been spilled this night. The group continued walking until the sun was completely in the sky. No stops were made because they wanted to be healed at the How as soon as possible. They were around five miles away from the How, until they heard certain noises.

From afar, they could hear people cheering…Miraz's coronation. No one dared to look at each other, especially not Caspian.

Peter and Caspian were leading the group while staying a steady distance away from each other and made sure that no eye contact was made. Susan and Edmund held up the back, both inspecting their army that they worked hard at building as well as looking at each other for some kind of small comfort or hope to rewind the past. But they knew when Lucy, Peter, and Caspian first got there, there was no turning back from any decision they made. Everything was definite.

The army didn't want to stop their march. Caspian wanted to get away from the noise, the cheering, and the despair, Peter wanted to get away from Caspian, the troops wanted to be as far away from the castle as possible, Edmund wanted to heal his army, and Susan wanted to cry to Edmund. The sooner they got to the How, the sooner these things could be accomplished.

After a while, Susan started trailing behind by a significant amount. She wasn't really looking up at where she was walking so it was a surprise to her when she was pulled into another direction. Edmund had pulled her away after he realized that his sister was no longer next to him but instead behind him. Her expression was blank and she was about to walk into a tree until he pulled her out of the way. She was a little dazed and confused until realization finally sunk in.

He was worrying for her. How much of a toll had the recent events taken on her? "Are you alright, Susan?"

Susan wanted to just laugh bitterly, but refrained herself from doing so. Was she alright? _Yes dear brother, I'm perfectly fine. Half our army just died in a raid I'm partly responsible for, our older brother hates me and Prince Caspian, my arms feel like murder, this atmosphere feels like hell, and to top it all off, our dear sweet older brother spat poison in the form of the truth at me a few hours ago during the raid. Yes everything is just perfect!_

As much as she wanted to say all of that out loud and just scream her pain at the top of her lungs, she didn't because she needed to keep up some form of hope for the rest of her army and her people. "I'll be alright." She didn't look at him so he knew there was something else behind it. He didn't stop staring at her until he got a decent enough answer. When she knew no one was looking at them or was able to overhear their conversation, she quickly gave him a look that said "I'll tell you later." He nodded knowing that that was all he was going to get for now.

He looked on the ground and smiled when he found two interwined Forget-Me-Nots sitting innocently next to a tree. He took the peaceful flowers and stared at it for a while. Susan looked as well. She smiled. The flowers, though naturally small in size, were huge in resemblance to their cause. It proved that there was still hope for old Narnia – the bright, beautiful old ways as opposed to the current Narnian life they were living. Edmund put the two delicate flowers in her hair and gave her a one armed hug of which she gladly returned with a smile.

Edmund and Susan gradually started to move up. They went to certain soldiers trying to comfort them and ease their pain while during this march. By the time they were only a mile away from the How, Susan and Edmund were already in the front, right behind Peter and Caspian and right next to Glenstorm holding Trumpkin. Both Edmund and Susan avoided looking at Glenstorm and Trumpkin. Trumpkin was barely conscious and only a few hours ago, Glenstorm had lost his son…and it was all their fault. The guilt was just too much to bear for the moment. Because of the guilt they felt and how busy they became with the others, they didn't notice how one black dwarf by the name of Nikabrik sneakily diverged from the trail only to disappear into the woods.

Soon, they were already in front of the How and one of the How's lookouts blew the horn to signal their arrival. Lucy who had been sitting next to the Stone Table staring at her cordial and praying to Aslan quickly got up to see to her family. She ran as fast as she could in her dress and ran through the How's corridors. She was slightly nervous. What was she going to expect? What awaited her outside? Did they take the castle? Lucy ran faster until she finally exited the How and saw the weary troops lead by her brother and Prince Caspian, those left behind in the How followed behind her, also anticipating anything.

This wasn't right. Only half the army returned. They were all injured and tired. They didn't take the castle. Lucy voiced her concern. "What happened?"

Peter had a bitter look on his face, as did Caspian, but Peter's look was also mixed with held back rage and anger. "Ask him." Peter's look at Caspian as well as his tone all spat poison.

Lucy saw Susan roll her eyes and give Peter a disappointed glance. "Peter…" She wanted to reprimand him that now was not the time to argue but it was too late for Caspian had taken this as a challenge.

"Me…? You could have called it off, there was still time." Caspian was right. The three of them could have escaped on the Griffins and called off the raid once Miraz knew about them.

"No there wasn't thanks to you. If you had kept to the plan, those soldiers might be alive right now."

Caspian was now raising his voice towards Peter. "And if you had just stayed here like I suggested, they definitely would be." This would not end well.

"You called _us _remember." Edmund wanted to face palm himself. Why on earth would you bring that up?

Caspian looked at Peter seriously. "My first mistake." Edmund did not know what to feel at this point. He was happy to have his brother back in his life. Did Caspian really mean what he said? Sure Peter's made a few bad decisions this past night but nothing that would make him unworthy of returning…or at least that's what Edmund thought. Edmund looked at Lucy. He couldn't imagine what she was feeling right now. Caspian just said it was a mistake to call them back. The "them" being both Peter _and_ Lucy. Lucy pretended to believe that Caspian didn't mean it when he said it was a mistake to bring them both back.

Peter looked serious as well when answering. "No, your first was thinking you'd lead these people." He started walking away from Caspian. Both Susan and Edmund wanted to take a big sigh of relief. At least that was one disaster avoided. Just let the two of them cool off on their own. But that didn't happen because now Caspian was even angrier.

"Hey!" Peter turned to face him only to see Caspian's eyes dark and filled with hate and anger. "I am not the one who abandoned Narnia." Susan gasped and looked at Edmund who looked right back at her. Caspian might as well have stabbed Peter with his sword. For some strange reason Susan and Edmund had been forgotten in the little scuffle that was occurring between these two teenage boys. Both Edmund and Susan wanted to tell them that it wasn't Peter or Lucy's fault they left and that it was Susan's and Edmund's choice to go back to Cair Paravel. But they were just lost and pushed behind the sidelines while the two eldest leaders were having their own private battle. Lucy also gasped. She was hurt as well. If she hadn't been so curious about "Spare Oom" then maybe she and Peter wouldn't have walked through the wardrobe.

Peter almost snickered bitterly at Caspian but instead he was ready to shout and scream at Caspian. How dare he say that Peter abandoned Narnia. "You _invaded _Narnia. You have no more right to be here than Miraz does!" Edmund winced…ouch…another stab. What really hurt was that both were right. Peter did technically "abandon" Narnia but Narnia could have stood on its own fine without them because two monarchs stayed behind. If the Telmarines hadn't invaded, maybe there would still be a Golden Age…but then where would that leave Susan and Edmund? Thirteen hundred years later, their great great great grandkids must be ruling by then.

Edmund saw Caspian push Peter aside and began walking into the How. But Peter made another stab. "You, him, your father…! Narnia's better off without the lot of you!" Caspian stopped after Peter's last remark. Now it was personal. How dare this "High King" bring his murdered father into the situation!

That was the last straw for Caspian. He let out a yell and pulled out his sword toward Peter to which Peter pulled out Rhindon and pointed it back at Caspian.

Edmund had enough. The only reason they let this argument go for this long was because they thought that they needed to get this out of their system. They were obviously wrong. Edmund finally ended it when he realized there was still a Narnian in critical condition next to him that needed aid immediately. "Stop it!" Peter and Caspian both faced him.

Edmund was helping Glenstorm lower Trumpkin to the ground. Lucy's face was one of pure pain and horror. Her DLF was dying. She quickly ran to him to give him a drop from her cordial. Peter turned to watch Caspian walk away from the scene and back into the How, Nikabrik, who had decided to rejoin the group, trailing behind him. Peter noticed an exchanged occurring between Glenstorm and his wife. His wife was already crying but when she looked up at Glenstorm who made a gesture with his arm across his chest, she put her head down crying all over again. She knew now that one of her sons would never come home. Peter looked back at his sisters tending to the dwarf.

The dwarf swallowed the drop and was soon back to his normal, and slightly cranky, self. He looked around at the group all staring at him. "What are you all standing around for? Telmarines will be here soon enough." Lucy smiled, glad to know she did her part.

Trumpkin looked at her…cranky yet grateful. "Thank you…my dear little friend." Lucy's smile grew even more. Edmund began helping Trumpkin to his feet while Peter and Lucy walked back to the How. Susan started giving orders for an infirmary set up and to have everything made comfortable so they could start healing the injured. Edmund smiled a little…it was Susan's first time ordering them around since before the raid. He was glad to see a small glimpse of what was once their life style.

Edmund followed her lead and started helping people into the infirmary. The critical were put into beds. Lucy put one drop of her juice into a few bowls of water. The Narnian nurses began taking clean rags and dipping them into the bowls and rubbing them on the wounds of the wounded. Lucy was helping with the minor injuries. Susan helped those more seriously injured. Edmund helped where he could. Lucy being, the most skilled at Narnian medicines, took the minor injuries because there were more who had them and she didn't know how to deal with serious wounds like Susan did.

Edmund saw that Susan needed more equipment so he decided to help her out by getting some more. One the way to where they keep the spare health supplies, he saw his brother enter the same hallway he was walking in but he was a few paces ahead and going in the same direction Edmund was heading for at a much faster pace. Peter didn't see Edmund. Edmund was wanted to know what was wrong with Peter but when he turned the corner, he saw Peter had paused and was staring down Caspian who was walking the opposite direction and crossed paths with his brother.

For a while, the two just stared at each other with harsh looks. Neither of them noticed Edmund since Edmund was still hiding in the hallway where Peter was before he turned the corner. Soon, Caspian stepped down, turned, and walked away. Peter stayed a moment longer before he too turned and walked away. He turned the corner only to come face to face with Edmund and his own harsh glare.

Edmund blocked Peter so he couldn't move as well as his arms were crossed. Edmund needed to knock some sense into his older brother. "It's good to know you and Caspian have an understanding." He said it in a sarcastic tone…enough to sting Peter a little.

Peter just breathed out heavily and tried to get past Edmund, but Edmund wouldn't budge. Edmund spoke again. "Oh and you're welcome, by the way, you know…for me saving your life earlier."

Peter looked at Edmund with contempt and responded bitterly. "I had it sorted." Again, he tried to get passed Edmund but still Edmund wouldn't budge.

Edmund tried to ignore that comment but spoke anyway. "You know, I wish you didn't treat him like that."

Peter let out a small bitter laugh. "Oh what, you're not going to turn against me as well are you? You're sounding like Susan now. Don't tell me you have some kind of crush on him as well."

Edmund rolled his eyes. "Can we leave Susan out of this for once? She already feels awful. What I mean is, you're not being fair with Caspian. I'm not stupid, Peter. Just like you or Lucy, Caspian is one of those people who you can read like an open book."

Peter didn't want to hear this. He tried to get through. Edmund tried to make him listen. "He's tired of your ruling, he's never given a chance, you're always pushing him down…"

Peter wouldn't let him continue. "How would you know how he feels?"

Edmund now gave a bitter laugh. "Because it was _me_ in his place at one point in time." He then whispered to Peter. "When are _you_ going to learn to grow up?"

Peter didn't look at Edmund, knowing that he spoke the truth. He whispered and tried to turn the other way. "Shut up."

Edmund grabbed his arm. Thirteen hundred years of training made him strong. "Why? Do I think I'm dad but I'm not?"

Peter finally looked at Edmund. "What would you have me do?"

Edmund smiled a little. Maybe this was the breakthrough. "Admit to being a wrong, hardheaded, idiot, create a public apology to _everyone, _and lastly, go make things right between you and Caspian. And don't do it begrudgingly, do it sincerely. If you two don't get things together our army will crumble and Miraz will kill us all. Thirteen hundred years of training and hope of a new life would all be thrown away because of your petty and angst filled disagreements."

Peter closed his eyes and took a big sigh. He couldn't deny it. Everything Edmund said was the truth. Looking back, he really did treat Caspian like how he treated Edmund a while ago. He needed to make things right with Caspian _immediately_. Maybe then he'd regain the trust that he lost so long ago. Peter put a hand on one of Edmund's shoulders. "Thank you, Just King."

Edmund smiled at Peter and put one of his hands on Peter's shoulder. "You're welcome, brother." The two brothers walked to where they had seen Caspian walk to. This particular hallway only went one place – The Stone Table room. They passed the wall paintings they had seen earlier: the four of them next to their thrones. Peter took another deep breath. He needed to speak to Caspian not as the High King, but as Peter Pevensie.

Meanwhile:

The previous night had been awful for everyone and this day was no better. Susan had gone to about twenty people with critical injures and Lucy had helped around another thirty with minor ones. The Narnians had broken spirits, but the young Queens had broken hearts. Lucy knew this raid was a bad idea and now she had to watch all these people suffer for that one mistake. If only she had been persistent, maybe then Caspian wouldn't resent calling her and Peter back. She looked at her older sister.

Susan looked as though she had aged several more years in one night. She was tired and sad and she looked like she was in pain, and she was pained in more ways than one. Susan was suffocating in her own guilt. If she hadn't given the order to allow her troops to try and take Miraz's castle when Peter had asked her, maybe they'd still have everybody. But if they hadn't tried, then what would they have done instead? For the first time in about thirteen centuries, Susan didn't know what to do.

When Susan finally finished up with her last patient, the only thing she wanted to do was to go outside and cry. She felt as though she was ready to puke blood. That's how disgusted with herself she felt. She was already walking outside when she noticed Glenstorm and his wife, Windmane, sitting in relaxing area. She was helping him by healing some wounds on his torso. Susan noticed a few tears rolling down Windmane's face. The two of them had lost a son. It was her fault they did. If she hadn't told Peter that her troops would "handle the guards or die trying" he'd still be alive. If Glenstorm hadn't saved her first, probably could've saved his son and helped him leave the castle as well.

Susan knew she needed to talk to the couple. But how would talking help? What was she going to say? _I'm sorry for your loss. I'm sorry for my idiot brother's idiot plan. I wish I had died in your son's place. _They're not going to want to hear that. So what is there left to say? As she walked to the centaur couple, she started to become increasingly nervous. She tried to form words in her head but nothing would come out right. Her mouth was dry, her throat was closed. She finally made it to the couple. The two centaurs were sitting on the ground and when they noticed her they looked up and were about to stand. She put her hand out as though to say "stay where you are, don't move." The two centaurs obeyed her. Windmane quickly wiped away her tears. She did not want to burden the Queen with more guilt.

Susan knelt down so that the three of them were somewhat at eye level, the centaurs still being a few inches above the human. Susan took a deep breath and tried to find the right words but failed yet again. Windmane put her hand on Susan's and tried to smile for her. Susan wanted to cry in front of the two of them but fought back the tears. Susan instead reached back and pulled the flowers that Edmund had placed in her hair earlier, the Forget-Me-Nots. She gave it to the grieving couple. Windmane gladly took it and the two centaurs gave her a genuine smile…the first smile they both had since their son died. Susan smiled as well. Though she couldn't form her own words, the flowers said enough for everyone: Never Forget, let the memory live on…

Glenstorm kissed Susan's hand as she got up to leave. Susan was able to walk away smiling and feeling as though some of the guilt was no longer on her shoulders. On her way out, she bumped into Lucy. Lucy needed to talk to Susan. Now that they were both done with their duties, they finally could. Lucy didn't need to know what happened during the Night Raid. She just wanted to know what happened to Susan.

"Susan, can we talk?"

"Always." Susan smiled at her little sister.

Lucy felt a little awkward but someone needed to get through to Susan. "Please don't get mad." Susan looked at Lucy curiously but let Lucy continue. "What's happened to you?"

Susan was exactly braced for her question. "What are you talking about?"

"You've changed."

"War changes people, Lu. And besides, it's been a while since we last saw each other. There's bound to be changes. I mean, you've grown. You've become more beautiful and more mature and yet you're somehow still the same."

"No, that's not what I mean." Susan was again curious. "You've become more…passive, less responsive…torn in more ways than one."

Susan looked down. She was hoping no one noticed or cared enough to notice. Susan didn't know what to say, so Lucy spoke. "It's because of us, isn't it?"

Susan was a little shocked now. "No, Lucy, never."

As much as Lucy wanted to believe her older sister, she knew it'd be wrong. "But it is. We all pull you in different directions. Edmund's loyalty, my faith, Peter's pride, Caspian's affections…it forces you to change every time and so much so that you don't know who the real you is anymore."

Susan couldn't believe what she was hearing. This wasn't true. This can't be true. As she spoke to Lucy, she spoke fast words to try and convince herself and Lucy of everything she was trying to say. "I follow Peter, Edmund follows me. That doesn't mean I change every time I'm with either of them. I believe in the two of them and I believe in your faith as well. I'm still the same person with each of you. And Caspian…Caspian…he doesn't care for me any more than a friend or military official."

"Or a fantasy come to life." Susan looked at her sister confused. "I may be small, but remember, I was at one point older."

Susan was doubtful. "Lucy, I don't think you know what you're talking about."

"I'm pretty sure I do. It's not that hard to tell. Everyone can see it, Su…_everyone._ He likes you, Susan. They can see it in the way he looks at you. And by the way you look back at him and immediately agree to his decisions, I think the feelings are returned."

Lucy had to be wrong. "There was a legitimate reason as to why I sided with his decision versus the night raid." Susan was about to get worked up over this topic.

Lucy tried to hide her smirk as she put her hands on her hips. "That may be true, but was there some kind of legitimate reason for challenging him at archery yesterday afternoon?"

Susan's jaw dropped. Had their flirting really been _that_ obvious? Lucy wanted to downright laugh. Susan was just speechless. Lucy took her hands off her hips and looked at Susan. "I'm going to see if our brothers need anything. Maybe you should talk to Prince Caspian…" She walked passed a still shocked Susan with a smile on her face.

Susan leaned against the wall. She started to think about everything Lucy had just told her. She didn't know what to think or what to feel. But maybe Lucy had a point. Maybe she should talk to Caspian. _Alright fine, I'll talk to him. About what though?_

Susan decided not to think about it and instead made her way to where she thought Caspian would be. Her first instinct told her the Stone Table room. What better room to think in than there? On her way there, she noticed that she had left her quiver leaning on the wall. She debated whether or not to take it with her. _I'm just going to speak to Caspian. It's not like I really need it._ Although she told herself she didn't need them, something inside of her was telling her to bring it. She decided to take it with her.

After a few more maneuvers through corridors, she finally made it to the entrance of the stone table room. What she saw upon entering shocked her. The White Witch was back. She needed a drop of Adam's blood to be freed. Who brought her here? Who was that desperate? She looked to see Caspian holding out a bloody hand to the witch. How could he? She looked around the room to notice that her brothers were battling with her minions and even Lucy tried to help fight. She pulled out an arrow and her bow and looked to where to shoot. Edmund had taken down the werewolf, Peter got rid of the hag, and Trumpkin had stopped Nikabrik from taking Lucy's life. The scenes had happened so quickly.

Susan then looked back at Caspian who was about to offer up his blood until Peter pushed him away. Oh good…he'll destroy her. She lowered her weapon only to notice that Peter was about to offer up his own blood. What was he doing? She lifted her bow again. Fine. She'll finish the job. But wait…before she released the arrow, she noticed Edmund go behind the witch. What was he doing now? She now had to choose. Shoot or don't shoot? If she didn't shoot, Peter would offer his blood. If she did, she could risk hurting Edmund. Before she had the time to debate with herself over her decision, she noticed something go through the witch's stomach. It was a sword.

In less than a moment, the witch had yelled a cry of agony and pain and the ice she was trapped within soon shattered into several pieces. She looked to see Edmund lowering his sword from behind what once was the witch's ice wall. She smiled. Edmund finally had his closure. She stabbed him several years ago…and now he stabbed her back.

Edmund looked at Peter. Before Peter could say anything, Edmund spoke. "I know, you had it sorted." His statement was dripping with bitterness. Edmund walked over to where Lucy and Trumpkin were to help them. It was then that everyone finally noticed Susan's presence.

Peter and Caspian both turned to face the "Gentle Queen's" angered gaze. Her eyes were filled with pain, anger, and disappointment. She looked at her older brother. He's supposed to be their High King. He's not supposed to give in. _What kind of "High King" are you? _She then looked at Caspian and almost laughed bitterly at herself. Here's the man she was going to speak to. Here's the man she could've sworn was different from so many others. But no…she was wrong. They were all one and the same.

Peter and Caspian both felt uncomfortable. Her gaze brought them more pain than the witch did only moment ago. Never had she looked at either of them with so much disappointment. It was disgusting as it was unbearable. Susan finally broke the gaze, turned, and walked out of the room.

No one dared to make another move. Everyone was frozen where they stood. Edmund was the first to move. He walked away from Lucy and Trumpkin and was about to follow Susan.

Lucy was curious at what he was about to do. "What are you doing?"

Edmund looked at her. "What does it look like I'm doing? I'm following Susan." He looked at Peter and Caspian when saying his next sentence. "It's what I've been doing for the past thirteen centuries…and it's never failed me yet." And with that, he took his leave.

**Sorry for the delay…thanks for continuing in reading…I'm still updating the other stories…I might update this again tomorrow since I finally took the time to outline everything and since this chapter was pretty boring…then I'm gonna find a nice rock to hide under for the next few hundred years…expect updates then…or not…not sure yet…thanks as usual to schaferdramaqueen for the help (this is for you, btw)…2012 take me now.**

**-tin2lo**


	16. Chapter 16

**This chapter's new plot line at the end is either gonna be great or seriously hurt me via flames. Let's find out.**

**Disclaimer: Everything belongs to their respectable owners (mostly borrowed lines).**

_There's so much sad gonna flood he ocean  
We're all in tears for a world that's broken  
Together We Cry_

-The Script "We Cry"

Edmund walked out of the stone table room fuming and looking for Susan. She was probably in the front of the How right under the arches. Where else was she to go when she needed to blow off steam? Inside the Stone Table room, Peter and Caspian were still staring at each other. The look in both of their eyes said the same thing…shame, dishonor, regret. They both thought the same thing as well, the last thing either of them wanted was for Edmund, Susan, or anyone else to feel so much disappoint towards them. Finally, Caspian walked out first. He needed to think as well. As Caspian left, Peter put his head in his hands and ran his fingers through his hair as he took a deep breath.

Without even noticing Lucy still in the room or Trumpkin leave the room, he moved towards one of the steps on the Stone Table and sat down with a look of deep thought on his face. As he sat down he stared at the portrait of Aslan thinking of the past few events. Peter almost began to cry until Lucy came up to him and sat beside him. Brother and sister each took a sigh as they stared at Aslan's portrait. Peter finally spoke "How can you know?"

Lucy looked at her brother with genuine confusion. "What do you mean?"

He didn't look at her. "You've seen Him." Peter was too ashamed to say that he didn't see Him as well. "I wish he'd just given me, some sort of proof." Lucy looked at her brother and though he was the Magnificent High King, right now he was just Peter Pevensie. The tone of his voice sounded so vulnerable, so lost that it almost shocked Lucy.

She knew that he was looking to her for some kind of comfort but she couldn't really provide that, she could only provide him with the truth. "Maybe we're the ones who need to bring ourselves to Him."

Peter and Lucy passed an understanding as well. Peter forgot that Lucy was older at one point and yet she still had that faith in her that Peter never really possessed. Lucy put a hand on Peter's shoulder. Peter decided he's been comforted enough, now would be the perfect time to make things right with Susan. So many people he needed forgiveness from, he felt even more ashamed. Peter left the room to find Susan and Lucy left to join the other troops.

It didn't take long for Peter to find Susan. When he walked out of the How, he saw her leaning on one of the columns under the arch. Edmund had both of his arms wrapped around her shoulders and his head and face buried on her shoulder as well. Neither of them faced the How. Peter took a deep breath before continuing towards his siblings. Susan knew Peter was behind her, she felt his presence. Edmund looked up when he felt Susan's body stiffen. Peter was still a few steps away from them but he stopped anyway. He could come back after they both cooled off. He waited for a sign to allow him to continue towards them.

Edmund turned from Peter to Susan. He didn't want to leave her and yet he felt that she needed this as much as Peter needed it. She nodded towards Edmund, allowing him to leave them. Peter still couldn't get over Susan and Edmund's form of communication. No words needed to be exchanged for the two of them to understand anything. Edmund let go of Susan and walked towards a How but not before casting Peter a glance that said either "Don't hurt her" or "Good Luck." He couldn't really tell.

When it was just Peter and Susan left, Susan still wouldn't turn to face him and Peter didn't force her to and yet he spoke anyway. "Susan, you have to understand, I didn't mean for that to happen." She still didn't face him. "She tempted me…" He started to slow down when he realized something. "…just like Edmund."

She finally faced him. "Yes, you did. She tempted you like Edmund and you submitted…like Edmund. You felt shame like Caspian, hope like the Narnians, happiness at your return like Lucy, and arrogance like Miraz. But you know who you haven't tried to understand? You haven't tried to understand how this war has made me feel, Peter. What you said to me during the raid, how I've done nothing to move this war forward, was completely right and I fear that's what hurts the most."

Peter now regretted ever saying that to her. "I'm sorry, you know I didn't mean it. I was just mad at the time."

"That may be true, but you were still right. But you know what hurts more than the truth of your words? The fact that I did everything I could right after to deny that and prove to myself that it wasn't true." Peter could see that she had previously been crying and she was trying hard not to let the second wave of tears escape. Peter thought it best not to interrupt her just yet. "Do you know why I freely gave you and Caspian power? I thought you could be better leaders and do more within a matter of a few weeks than I did in 1300 years. I wished every night for Aslan to come and send me some sort of sign or help or for him to come…and then you came…"

Peter tried to lighten the mood "You ever heard the expression 'Be careful of what you wish for'?"

Susan was a little frantic. "What, so ending up with the White Witch resurrected, that will serve me right?"

"No, it's just…" Peter thought back to what Lucy said to him. "Maybe it's us who should be bringing ourselves to Him."

Susan looked at Peter, and really looked at him. "Do you think I haven't already thought of that?" Peter was now confused. If she had already considered finding Aslan herself, why are they still without Him? "I would always will myself to find him myself…but I was too scared to go alone."

Peter was even more confused. "Why would you be afraid to search for Aslan?"

Susan nearly scoffed "It's not the searching for Aslan part that has me frightened. It's the leaving the How part." Peter still didn't understand. So he waited for Susan to continue. "Do you remember what happened the last time we left or split? Thirteen hundred years ago the four of us left Cair Paravel and the result was you and Lucy leaving and Narnia falling into disarray. I didn't want that to happen again. I thought that if I left the How by myself to search for Him, I might be sent back to England and be split from Edmund and the Narnians. I didn't want to risk it. That's why everytime we went searching for troops, I never went alone nor let Edmund go anywhere alone. I thought that once we let our guard down and we had been away from the Narnians, we might end up like you. Then who else would be left to take care of the Narnians? And now look, my fear has brought us 13 centuries of no progress…but trust me when I say that I would've looked for Aslan if I could."

Peter never realized how hurt Susan had been through the years. He moved closer to pullher into a comforting hug. "Susan, I didn't realize. You've done more work here than I could ever repay you for. If I hadn't left Narnia, none of this would've happened. I shouldn't have said those things to you. I'm sorry I let you and Edmund and Caspian and the Narnians down. Lucy and I were brought here for a reason and we didn't live up to it…or at least I didn't live up to it. It's just that when I got here, I thought I'd be High King again but when I found out that it wasn't my throne we were fighting for, I was afraid. But I promise to be a worthier king and a better brother." Peter pulled away from her to face her. "Maybe it's time for both of us to face our fears." Susan nodded and hugged him tight again. Soon both of the Pevensies were interrupted by Edmund.

He was breathing deeply and had a disgruntled look on his face. "Pete, Su, you better come quickly." All three had left to enter the How again in a fast paced manner.

Meanwhile:

Caspian, while sitting on one of the higher levels of the How, watched the entire ordeal. Though he couldn't hear anything, he tried to get a feeling of what they were talking about and yet…he wasn't paying attention anyway. He was too caught up with his own thoughts. It wasn't long until Professor Cornelius joined him outside and sat right next to him. Both looked to the horizon and neither to each other.

Soon Caspian spoke. "Why did you never tell me about my father?"

Cornelius looked at his student and sighed. He knew he couldn't avoid the conversation for long he just wondered how to explain. "My mother was a black dwarf from the northern mountains." Caspian didn't really understand. He knew that black dwarves weren't well respected because of their previous alliance with the White Witch but he didn't exactly see the relevance. But he was surprised to know that his tutor was half dwarf. "I risked my life all these years so that one day you might be a better king than those before you." Caspian finally appreciated his tutor more. He risked his life as a black dwarf and as a Narnian, all for him.

Everyone did their part…all for him...everyone had bled for him, risked their life for him, and what did he do for them in return? His people almost put the Narnians toward extinction, he killed off half of the Narnian army, and he almost resurrected the White Witch as well as the only thing he's done to make anything right, is angst over it. "Then I have failed you." He felt so much shame.

"Everything I told you, everything I didn't, it was only because I believe in you. You have a chance to become the most noble contradiction in history…the Telmarine who saved Narnia." Caspian thought it over. Now would be the time finally make things right and save this country.

Before Caspian could put more thought into this, Edmund came running towards Caspian just as frantically as he ran towards Susan and Peter. "You better come quickly."

Caspian and the professor both got up and followed King Edmund. What could possibly be wrong? Was the Telmarine army here? Before they got any deeper into the How, Caspian stopped Edmund just to be briefed. "What is going on?"

Edmund didn't even look at him, he was just frantically moving towards the inside of the How. "Before Nikabrik and his groupies died, they left us a little _present."_

Caspian could only think of awful scenarios. Did the White Witch really come back? What did they do? Once they got inside there was an argument between Queen Susan and a few Narnians.

"You can't just expect us to keep it!"

"Did the Telmarines show us mercy? Why should we allow them mercy?"

"This is the reason Prince Caspian lost his throne!"

Queen Susan's gentle yet fierce voice split the crowd. "Enough! If killing is your only talent, then that's your curse. I will not be remembered as a queen who murdered the defenseless and the innocent. And please refrain from referring to him as an _it_."

Caspian looked at Peter. He didn't speak but he did seem paler than usual. "What is going on?"

Queen Susan took a deep breath and tried to explain to Caspian. "When we came back from the night raid…it seems as though Nikabrik may have wandered off from the crowd…"

Caspian didn't understand but let Susan continue. "…we can only assume that he left to 'visit' the Telmarine campsite of which Miraz and his family marched through during their coronation parade…and on his way back…" Susan hesitated again before continuing. "...as revenge…he may have stolen…"

The crowd parted to show a basket on the ground with a sleeping baby boy inside.

"...your cousin…"

_When you're forgiven but you can't forget  
Feels like you're drowning but you still got breath  
And we been try'na lay this ghost to rest  
Oh but there ain't no getting out of this mess_

-The Script "Bullet From A Gun" (from their latest album "Science and Faith")

**Let's see how this new plot point fares and then I'll update. Oh and life stopped sucking so thanks to those who made it suck less!**

**Review please!**

**-tin2lo**


	17. Chapter 17

**I have no excuse, just a thousand apologies. Please accept them…or don't.**

Caspian stared at the child in the basket, his mouth agape. He didn't really know how long he'd been staring at the baby. Was it really possible that Nikabrik was cruel enough to steal a poor defenseless child from its parents during a vulnerable time? Had he really been that cold and cruel? Apparently he was…the child in question was here, wasn't it?

Reepicheep spoke up quite infuriated for the small mouse that he was. "Well I say this is a high act against all honor!" Of course everyone else was infuriated as well, but maybe not for that specific reason.

A faun faced the royals "What should we do with him, your majesties?" All of the royals were at a momentary loss. What _were_ they going to do with a baby? War was no place for children in general, let alone an infant merely a few weeks to a few months old.

Reepicheep spoke up again. "I say we send him down the river as an offering to the Great Aslan. It seems the only way to regain the honor we have lost."

Many soldiers had agreed with Reepicheep's idea but Caspian gave Reepicheep a hard look and yelled "No!"

This time Trumpkin spoke up. "Don't be blind Caspian. Aren't you forgetting that this is the reason you lost your throne." He was pointing a harsh finger at the sleeping child.

Caspian was growing angrier. "Of course I haven't forgotten, but he is still family and deserves to be treated as such!"

"Caspian's right." This time Lucy spoke. "He's family and families don't turn their backs on each other during times of need whether we're Narnian or Telmarine. If we did, then Edmund would have been dead a long time ago." Some people had forgotten that Lucy had wisdom of adult years and yet she still made slip ups. She looked at Edmund and gave him an apologetic smile. She started regretting the second part of her argument.

Edmund gave her a look of forgiveness but spoke next anyway. "Let's just return the child already before they even notice he's gone. Surely everything will go back to the way it was."

"It's too late for that, Ed," Peter spoke furiously, "by now Miraz would have noticed the disappearance of his son and heir. It won't be long until his army is right in front of the How ready to wage open war against us!"

A soldier spoke up. "I agree with King Peter, we might as well end it here while we still have a chance." As the uproar continued to rise, Queen Susan's patience was wearing thin as her headache grew greater, until the last straw was drawn.

"Quiet!" her fierce cry pierced through the crowd's complaints. "Our war here is not with the child, it is with Miraz. All of you would do well to remember that harming the innocent is still considered a crime against conscience, honor, and law."

She stopped to give everyone a hard look. For a second, everyone forgot why her title was "The Gentle." Edmund finally stepped in. "Queen Susan is right. We cannot kill the child plus it's probably already too late anyway to return it. Like the High King said, most likely they already know."

Lucy spoke up next after realizing something. "Do you really think they know the baby's missing? Then why haven't they tried to attack us to get him back yet?"

Caspian stared at his sleeping cousin before answering her question. "No, my uncle wouldn't do that even if he is just a heartless Telmarine. This is his only son and heir. He wouldn't risk anything that would jeopardize the safety of his son. He knows that as long as he does not attack, we will be given no reason to harm his child. Nikabrik probably knew this and stolen the baby as a bargaining chip or worse."

For the first time throughout the war, Peter agreed with Caspian. "Caspian's right. To hurt the child will only give them more reason to attack us."

Edmund stood up and walked over to the basket. The child was awake and yet looked just as confused as everyone else. "So I guess we're back to square one…what are we going to do with the child?"

Susan walked up behind her brother. "The only thing we can do – keep it."

A whole new uproar came about. This time it was Peter's turn to yell. "Enough! Queen Susan has given her verdict. Until me and the other royals figure out what to do with the child, it stays with us and that is _final."_

As he finished, the crowd became silent for they knew, even after a thousand years, to never argue with the High King for his temper was as sharp as Rhindon. When the crowd was silent, the royals thought they could finally relax, but the moment didn't last for the child, feeling another change in atmosphere, cried for the first time while in their custody. Edmund groaned while Lucy sat down as though she was too tired, even for her small body, to deal with this right now. Peter and Caspian both stiffened while Susan ran both of her hands through her long brown hair. She too, couldn't deal with this now.

After about two minutes of the loud crying, Susan gave Caspian a look as if to say 'are you going to do anything?' He responded with the same look returned.

Susan was about to voice it out but Caspian beat her to it. "Aren't you going to do something?"

Susan looked at him wide eyed and shocked. "What…? Me…? I thought you were going to do something. He is _your _cousin."

Caspian looked back at her with a mirror expression. "Well I thought you were going to do something first."

Susan still held the look of shock and surprise but this time mixed with anger. "Oh so you assumed I'd do something because I'm a woman, right?"

"No, I _assumed _you'd do something because _you're_ considered the Gentle."

The two of them kept throwing comments and remarks at each other and fought like a married couple for about another minute before Peter finally broke it up. "By Aslan's mane, will one of you _please _just take care of him already?"

Susan and Caspian exchanged one more glare before Susan submitted and moved to lift the baby from the basket. She held the baby and carried it as tenderly as any mother would have. Despite the anger she felt after her little scuffle with Caspian, seeing this helpless and innocent baby in her arms made her smile and relax for once, especially when the baby smiled back at her. She always loved children, and they always loved her back.

Peter, Edmund, and Lucy smiled at the image of their sister holding a baby in her arms. Although none liked the situation, they had to smile at the moment. It had been a while since Susan had a real smile especially considering what happened in the previous night raid. Susan looked up to see her siblings smiling back at her. "You three better get used to this image 'cause I want about a million of these." And with that she left the room with a mischievous smile to try and put the baby back asleep.

Edmund and Lucy let out a chuckle and surprisingly, so did Peter. When their fit of giggles finally calmed down, Peter realized something. "Wait, what did she mean by a million? Two?"

Edmund smiled knowingly. "Aslan help her future husband."

Peter smiled and looked away. "Aslan forbid, she ever has a husband." This time it was the Narnians' turn to laugh. As they walked away, they laughed at their royals' playfulness. Even Caspian's initial anger was washed away in the short moment of playfulness.

As the crowd dispersed, the royals were left to think of their current situation. And as they thought of their current situation, the more awkward the royals felt being in the same room. Peter looked at his fellow royals. "Well if you don't mind, I think I'll go find a nice column to hit my head against a few times." And with a frustrated smile, Peter took his leave.

Edmund wanted to face palm himself. How mature their High King was. But then again, he too had been having that thought since this massive headache came to visit his mind.

Strange enough, the youngest royal was actually the most mature. She rolled he eyes at the display of her brothers and took a deep sigh and faced Edmund. "Ed, maybe you should go with him in case he does something stupid, which he is often capable of doing." She whispered the last part to herself but could tell both boys heard her. She looked back at Edmund. "Just go and spar…or train…or something."

Edmund nodded, coming out of his daze. "Right…I'll go do that." Edmund's reply signified that he was still a little awkward about the situation even after the moment of playfulness.

Lucy then looked at Caspian. He only smiled back. "Maybe you should go help Susan…you know with the baby – considering he's your cousin and all."

Caspian wasn't so sure. "Um, maybe you should. You're much closer with your sister and probably better with children." In reality, he didn't feel that he should be near Queen Susan. He felt so…conflicted…when he was near her. Maybe some space would help him through. After the Night Raid, White Witch, and their current situation, the small friendship they had established was slowly crumbling.

Lucy put on her famous "innocent face" as Peter and her father had called it and looked at Caspian with a false despair of which he did not notice. "I would, but I can't right now. I'm working on herbal remedies with the other ladies plus I must tend to the other wounded. Not to mention, ease the minds of nervous Narnians who aren't comfortable with your cousin's presence." Lucy didn't mean to guilt trip him but it seemed to have worked for Caspian's expression softened and he ended up agreeing. Lucy nodded her leave with a mischievous and victorious smile gracing her features.

Caspian made his way to where he thought Susan had taken his cousin. To tell the truth, he was slightly nervous. It was clear he had feelings for the beautiful queen, despite her age and such, but was it right? He felt so confused. Soon all of the confusion was washed away the moment he set foot into the makeshift bedroom.

Susan was successfully rocking the baby to sleep, humming a tradition Narnian Lullaby. His nurse used to hum a similar tune to him sometimes to get him to sleep. He remembered asking the professor about it a few years later…after his nurse was sent away. Cornelius told him that the tune was a famous lullaby played by Fauns to put anyone to sleep. Rumor had it that the faun, Tumnus, once used the same exact tune on Queen Lucy many years ago when she first stumbled from the land of Spare Oom and War Drobe and into the land where her true destiny lay.

Susan was no faun (though, if such rumor was also true, many of her suitors did claim her to be a siren in disguise for her amazing swimming ability as well as her ability to "lure in men with her beauty only to lead them to their deaths" – the death of their pride more so than the death of the suitor himself). The fact that Susan was able to put the child to sleep with a simple lullaby truly proved her gentleness and her kindness. She smiled at the sleeping child as though it was her own and she brought about a warmth that he hadn't felt since before the time of his mother. Caspian leaned against the side of the door, content with watching the scene before him.

But Susan was no fool any more than she was a faun. She knew the moment he set foot into the room. She felt the warmth of his presence. She tried not to show much of how she felt. Normally her body would have stiffened but instead she hitched her breath a little and pretended that he wasn't there – at least until she finished her duty with the baby. When all was said and done with the child, she faced Caspian.

Both of them shared the same glance but before either could speak, she gestured for both of them to leave the room. As she shut the makeshift wooden door, she finally faced Caspian, ready to speak with him about…well she wasn't really sure but she knew she'd know it when she knew it. The same went for him.

Caspian spoke first. "Walk with me?" Susan gave him a nod and they walked outside. Caspian lead her to the very tip of the How. At the tip, they were able to feel the breeze as well as see what was happening around them. "You have quite a way with children, my lady."

Susan smiled at him and sat down. "Well I've had loads of practice." Caspian smiled back at her and sat down as well. "Contrary to popular belief, Edmund wasn't always Just. As a child he was quite a handful though only two years my junior plus he was still able to remain immature behind closed doors during our golden age."

Caspian had to laugh at that. While being in their army, Edmund was always respectable. He held his head up high, helped those who needed it, took in the reins of leadership when needed, and showed signs of great loyalty to his superiors. He couldn't imagine the boy Susan was describing to him. "Was it just Edmund you took care of?"

Susan scoffed. "No. In my lifetime, I've taken care of my fair share of children. In Narnia, I tried establishing progressive programs for schools and hospitals. I also helped birth several children for sometimes midwives were just not enough. I actually didn't appreciate the joy children could bring until Lucy opened my eyes."

Caspian was a little taken aback but curious nonetheless. "Oh really? How so?"

Susan took a deep breath knowing it wasn't exactly the shortest of stories. "We all have our talents – the four of us. Peter was politics, Edmund was law and order, and Lucy was people. At the time, I didn't know what I was good for other than a pretty face or musical and artistic ability. Lucy kept telling me that that was enough but I was too stubborn to believe her. So she showed me how she worked among her specialty. She said that the children were the future of Narnia and in order to ensure a thriving and happy future, we must make sure the children were thriving and happy first. And the only way to ensure that is to meet on a personal level. After helping the children in more ways than one, whether it be chores or illness, I started to think of each child as my own. And when me and the children finally became really close, the little things we shared became the world to both of us such as returning a ball to a group of kids playing a game or putting a small flower in the hair of a little girl. The little things was what really mattered to each of us." She took a big sigh and continued. "Not so much now though…"

Caspian put a hand on her shoulder in a comforting gesture. "I'm sorry." Those two words were all he managed to say but somehow it made her smile and allowed her to continue.

"My original land, on the other hand was quite different from Narnia. In England, Edmund was usually Peter's charge unless they didn't or couldn't get along in which case, Edmund then became my charge. Lucy was the sweetheart of the family. She could never do wrong. The first time she ever actually got in trouble for breaking a vase, mum wanted to punish her but father told her not to because he was always worried of when her angel wings would appear. He was so glad to realize she was only a human child."

Again, Caspian couldn't help but smile, especially since she had a dreamy like state when talking about her previous life in a different world. "Do you ever miss your old life?" He was slightly hoping she'd say no. He rather liked being with her and if she was missing her old world, then she might jump on the first chance to go back. And who was he to hold her back from whatever happiness she chose? She probably didn't feel for him anyway. Or maybe she hated him and his people for causing her to live this way.

Susan looked at him seriously, half a smile on her face. "Of course after living in the beauty and peace of the Golden Age and in Cair Paravel, you're going to end up missing it, especially when you're sleeping on the dirt floor, but I can get by. Edmund puts on a strong face but I know each passing year kills him a little inside. A little less, now that the four of us are reunited. And with you here, hope has been restored."

Caspian smiled just a little at that. "What about your old world?"

Susan's already faint smile, faded just a little bit more. "It's been thirteen hundred years since I saw England. I don't really remember much about it. I barely remember my parent's faces. When I think of my parents, all I see is Aslan. But sometimes, when my mind is really clear, I can see my dad when I look at Edmund. But I always knew Peter and Lucy would come back, even though sometimes I doubted it, and Aslan, and myself…which is why I never forgot their faces."

Caspian's smile faded a little as well. "You were lucky to grow up with siblings. I've been an only child all of my life and it can get lonely. I lost both of my parents when I was young so I don't remember their faces either. For a while, Miraz was my only father figure, but as I got older, my father figure was Professor Cornelius. He had taught me so much and he was the one to help me escape Miraz's assassination attempt on my life…I think he is the only real family I've ever had. At least until I met you and your siblings." He gave her the biggest smile she had seen since they met.

Susan returned the smile as well. "You have definitely earned your rightful place in our small family. We may be small and broken, but we're still family. Edmund has actually told me that he considers you 'the fifth Pevensie' by now."

The two of them shared a small laugh - content with enjoying a rare moment of peace. The two looked below to see Peter and Edmund helping the others train. During one of the breaks, Edmund had "accidentally" tripped Peter causing Peter to tackle him to the ground and wrestle. The two of them were really going at it but laughing along the way. Neither Susan nor Caspian could keep back a laugh while watching the two kings try to pin each other down. It was also especially amusing when Peter would pin Edmund down yelling "Say it!" meaning that Edmund must admit to Aslan and all of Narnia and every other world in this universe that the Magnificent King was far greater, stronger, and better looking than the Just King. Obviously, Edmund refused to yield and submit. Susan rolled her eyes, debating whether or not to break it up. She decided against it. She looked at Caspian and started speaking again. "You know what I miss most about being in England?"

Caspian stared at her curious but allowed her to continue. "I miss being known as 'Peter Pevensie's little sister' or people asking me how a cold and close minded person such as myself could possibly be related to the open and carefree little girl which is Lucy. I miss being identified by my siblings and their greatness. It's those little things. Here, everyone knows me. Everyone expects certain things of me and look to me for leadership. It makes me miss being the shadows every now and then."

Caspian took her hand and intertwined his fingers into hers. She looked him straight in the eyes. "You being an only child does make you lucky in one way."

The two of them looked at each other seriously. Their hands were still together. Caspian had a confused look on his face. "And what could that possibly be?"

She squeezed his hand a little. "You don't have to feel the pain of when they're gone." As they looked at each other, Caspian could finally see the pain the she held back. She wasn't the same girl that stumbled through a wardrobe with her siblings. She grew up way too fast even in those long centuries that passed. Even if another thirteen hundred years passed by for her, she would never be able to get back the time lost or grow back down to what she was before this massive war erupted and before she had lost her siblings to a bad stroke of fate.

Susan let go of his hand and turned her head away from him and as she did that, Caspian caught a glimpse of a single teardrop fall from her eye. Feeling some kind of courage build up inside of him, he lifted his hand and wiped away the single teardrop. Once his hand left her face, she turned to him with a gentle smile and without even thinking, he leaned in to place a soft kiss on the very same cheek he wiped the tear from. Though both were surprised, both had felt warmth in the moment. Susan re-intertwined her hand with his and rested her head on his shoulder as they looked upon the horizon in a comfortable silence. Both had the very same thought on their minds. _I can get used to this._

As they sat in their silence, both failed to notice that they were being watched by a younger queen with a smug smile. Lucy had gone off in search for Susan to tell her of what she had been through for the past 45 minutes. Lucy looked and felt like Hell itself took her in then spit her back out. Her hair was disheveled, her hands ached from grinding herbs for medicine, her body and ribcage ached from being tickled as punishment for interrupting Peter and Edmund's wrestling match, she had a slight ringing in her ear from trying to rock the baby back to sleep as he cried, and to top it all off, she desperately needed to take a trip to the lavatory to relieve herself. But the Valiant Queen would do and go through each and every one of those events again just to witness this little moment her sister and this prince were secretly sharing.

Yes this was the moment she had been trying to instigate for a while now. At that moment, Lucy felt both victorious and smug at her work. Yes, as usual, things had gone the way Lucy had hoped for there was never a feat Lucy could not accomplish. In the wind, she could faintly hear a hearty chuckle and a warm and familiar voice telling her exactly what she was thinking about herself. "You have done well, dear one."

**Considering how long this chapter ended up being, I'm not really proud of it. I just needed to get it out for some character development and then to start some other stuff I may actually be proud of. I guess this was more of a filler chapter – but no worries, a little excitement is what I'll bring for the next chapter.**

**-tin2lo**


	18. Chapter 18

**I'm sorry about that. Really, I am. I hope this chapter lived up to the long wait despite possibly being rushed. I also hope I'm not too OOC if I did go in that direction. I'll leave you people to be the judge of that. Please enjoy anyway.**

It had been another long and grueling week for the royals as well as for the Narnian army. It seemed as though there was always a crisis on their hands. Once one problem was solved, there was always another. Someone needed to be bandaged, the Telmarines needed to be terrorized, the soldiers need to train, and the baby needed to be looked after. Then of course there were arguments, fights, a colorful array of insults (as long as it was not near the children – Narnian or otherwise), and disagreements. When Edmund was in a meeting discussing certain topics with certain people, he would go to Susan and say "Hell was a little better today." Translation: no one killed each other…yet.

But it's not like things weren't picking up. Though the situation with the baby was still confusing everyone, it warmed the Narnians to know that Miraz was just as confused on what to do for there were no acts of violence on either side. When both sides weighed their options, there was really no moving forward; threaten the Narnians, risk hurting the child; give back the child, no more leverage. It was as though the war was put on a temporary hold. Lucy kept quietly hinting at finding Aslan but the others were slowly losing faith. The most faith they had was admitting that as long as there was a standstill, there was peace.

After a while though, someone was brave enough to make the first move. On a bright morning during a training session, Lucy looked over the horizon to see a member of the opposing side riding toward them carrying some kind of branch. Lucy immediately fled the upper balconies in search for her siblings.

"Peter…Ed…Caspian!" She finally made it to the stone table room, the room of which they dubbed their war room. Peter, Caspian, Edmund and their advisors all looked up from the map of Narnia that they were studying. "We have a visitor."

Lucy's face held a look of both concern and hope. The men all looked at each other and then ran towards the nearest balcony, the same one Lucy previously occupied. They saw three men riding on horses towards the How. One carried a Telmarine Flag while another carried what could be an olive branch. They also saw the archers lower their bows and look away from their target. Susan, who was training the archers, turned in the same direction to see what had captivated her students. She started to walk in front of them and motioned for her students to stand their ground.

Susan walked a few feet ahead as though ready to face them herself. As they came closer, she became a little more fearful for what was to come. She clutched her bow tight enough to turn her knuckles white. She visibly jumped in fright when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She let out a sigh of relief when she turned to see the three men and her sister come to join her. They stood together ready to face whatever it was that was about to happen next.

When the horses were several feet in front of them, the men jumped off and walked the rest of the way. The man who held the flag and the man who held the olive branch stood behind and on either side of the middle man – obviously the leader of the group of three.

Hard looks were exchanged but otherwise no words were spoken. After what felt like hours, the middle man finally spoke in a heavy Spanish accent. "You have something that belongs to the royal family."

Edmund, the most cheeky, sarcastic, and mischievous of the group gave a rebuttal. "The last time I checked, _we _are the royal family of this land." Edmund let out a smirk at how uncomfortable he made the soldiers feel.

It wasn't like they could say that they had no control over the people because clearly they did. How were they supposed to follow up on that last comment? "Well _our_ king would like what was taken from him to be returned immediately."

"And _your_ prince is deciding whether or not that would be the most humane or correct decision." The men looked towards the voice speaking shocked to see that it was their prince Caspian who had spoken of himself in third person.

Before anymore embarrassment could be had on the Telmarine side, the leader gave held out a proposal by Miraz. "King Miraz sends his proposal to you…a deal, if you will…one that will be valid only until noon of tomorrow. You have until then to make up your mind." He stretched out the roll of parchment even more so that one of the royals could take it. Susan grabbed it; though hesitant due to the glares she received from the men due to the fact that she was just a lowly woman, and handed the roll to her elder brother.

Peter held the roll but did not open it. "Tell your leader that we will get back to him…for now, I suggest you leave."

The men looked around to see that the archers were getting tense and the soldiers behind the monarchs were actually quite intimidating. The men nodded their leave, not wanting to be a part of a fight they knew they would lose.

When they knew that the soldiers were deep into the forest, they turned around and made their way to the war room in order to decide on what was now to come. Miraz's proposal was simple enough. Meet in front of the Beruna River, return the child, a few days of peace and then resuming of the battle. Armistice gone.

To the monarchs, it seemed that the answer was clear: return the child, stop the armistice. To the Narnians however…

"It's a trap!"

"We can't trust them!"

"They'll kill us all!"

"This is just another mistake waiting to happen."

Edmund rubbed his aching head as he realized now why they weren't winning the war. His people couldn't agree on anything. They might as well have been sitting ducks for another thirteen centuries. Edmund had had enough. He was ending this now. In a flash of repressed feelings and too long passive aggressive attitude, hell came in the form of the Just King. "Shut it! This has gone on long enough. I have had _enough_ of all of this arguing, and tension, and cold hearted feeling I get every time this subject comes up. We cannot keep an innocent child away from his mother for such an extended period of time. We're not barbarians. We spend so much time saying all these things about the Telmarines but are we really any different? We should be. We know we're better than that…better than them. Now if you don't want to agree then at least agree to disagree. I'm accepting the offer and taking the child back. If I have to go alone then so be it but this is _not _negotiable."

And so the Just King turned on his heal and gracefully walked out of the room with a weight off of his shoulders and a sigh out of his mouth. He returned the proud smirk he received from Susan on passing her with a relieved smirk of his own.

Susan was happy for him. It was about time he blew off some steam. So now it was official. She and her brother would return the baby. She turned to face one of the fauns. "Ready the horses and prepare the child. King Edmund and I ride tomorrow at noon." No one dared to contradict her. What happened next would be Aslan's decision.

The next morning was spent quietly. The Narnians avoided crossing paths with King Edmund. When Edmund was mad, he was mad. Seeing him not quietly figuring something out was strange enough already, so seeing him lash out angrily was even worse. Being that only he and Susan would be leaving to make the deal, Narnians refused to cross paths in hopes that he wouldn't either talk them into going as well or have him lash out from not letting off enough steam. Either way, it was safe to say that Edmund was not a favorite person of the morning.

Edmund walked from his "living quarters" to the outside in stride with Susan carrying the baby behind him. Edmund walked with purpose and regal bearing that was almost threatening. As he passed chatting Narnians, they silenced immediately and bowed as he passed. Susan gave them each a smile so to reduce tensions. The Narnians felt shame for pushing their rulers so far with their incompetence to compromise, but Susan being the Gentle, always gave them a reason to smile despite circumstances.

It was a bright and beautiful day. If you stared at the sky long enough, you might have forgotten that it was a time of war. And if you tried really hard, you might think you were back in the Golden Age. At least that was what Peter thought as he stared at the sky. He couldn't believe that only a year ago (thirteen hundred for the Narnians, of course) he was staring at the same sky thinking how lucky he was to be living a comfortable life was. But as looked back down to his siblings from the ledge of the How, he realized that they sky, though big and blue and open and free as it was, it was not the same sky. These were not the same circumstances. He was not the same person. He tried hard to be, but ended up losing himself even more. This thought was what compelled his next decision.

It was almost time for them to leave to make the exchange. Susan was lifted onto the horse by one of the Minotaurs as she grasped the reigns in one hand and held onto the basket with the baby in the other. The baby was sound asleep and she dearly hoped he would stay that way despite the ride all the way to Beruna.

As Edmund was getting the saddle ready, he was telling one of the soldiers the orders. "I don't want any of you to do anything to give the Telmarines reason to attack us while we're gone. If things don't end the way they should, then be ready for anything but do not let the Narnians out too far. And another thing…"

Before he could continue, he turned and noticed his elder brother pulling a horse right next to his own. "I'm coming with you." That was all that needed to be said as Edmund gave a nod of approval and Susan flashed her big brother a smile.

Peter and Edmund mounted their horses and were about to ride off until a fourth party joined. "I'm coming as well." They looked to see Prince Caspian. No one wanted to argue the reasons Caspian shouldn't come so as silent agreements were made, Lucy came up to them with a quiet "Good luck." And with that, they finally rode off to what should be the beginning of the end of the war.

But as the royals soon realized, nothing was ever simple when it came to times of war. After a decent length of travel to Beruna, the four of them ended up waiting a good five minutes before anyone of the opposing party arrived. Susan did her best to keep her focus on the baby while the boys found their own focus points. It seemed that none of the wanted to take notice of all the trees cut down to build the stupid bridge before them.

All those lives…lost. And for what? A bridge that served as a ticking time bomb, constantly reminding them that the time for war and battle was near. The worst part about the cutting of the trees wasn't the fact that despite Susan and Edmund's attempts to save them, they still didn't make it. The worst part was that the trees didn't even see it coming due to their deep sleep. Sometimes it's nice to believe that they died painless, but both Susan and Edmund knew that wasn't true. During one of their paroles, they witnessed a dryad attempt to take form until its tree was cut down causing him to scream in pain until he exploded into nothing. The horror to watch someone slowly and painfully die right in front of you, in which you could do nothing but watch helplessly. It was the very definition of war.

Just standing there was becoming unbearable. Weren't they told to be there at exactly noon? This must've been some form of petty torture. Finally a group of soldiers on horses were seen at a distance. They surrounded a dark carriage…probably Miraz's. If they weren't so anxious to get this over with, they probably would've been getting a little worried. Weren't prisoner exchanges a lot easier back in the Golden Age?

As the carriage stopped across the bridge, the royals began dismounting their horses. Caspian had helped Susan off the horse as she held onto the baby. He also took the baby from her as she adjusted her quiver on her back. She gave Caspian a smile as she took back the baby. The four of them stood, strong and stoic, waiting to face Miraz. One of the soldiers opened the door and out stepped Miraz in dark yet regal clothing. He walked to his end of the bridge so that he was parallel to the four of them with only the bridge coming between them. To Susan's surprise, after Miraz stepped out of the carriage, so did his wife and queen – Prunaprismia. Susan felt her heart sink a little. She looked at the faces of her fellow royals and realized that they too were surprised at her appearance in the trade off. The Telmarine Queen looked disheveled; as though she hadn't slept in days. _She probably hasn't. Her baby is in the hands of the enemy._ That was all that was running through Susan's mind as she evaluated the Queen. General Glozelle stood in front of Prunaprismia as a body guard.

Now it could begin. When Miraz, Prunaprismia, Glozelle, and all the other soldiers were standing and ready, Miraz finally spoke. "You have something that belongs to me."

Susan stepped forward with the baby in her arms. "We do." Miraz glared at her as though saying she didn't belong in a conversation of men, but Susan remained unmoved.

Caspian took the baby from her arms and put him in the basket and placed it on the ground. "The baby is safe. What are you offering in exchange, _uncle?"_ Caspian didn't think he could hate family, but he did. He hated his uncle with a passion. He wasn't even his uncle anymore. This man before him wasn't family.

Miraz glared at Caspian as well. Insolent boy…how dare he speak to him that way? "No need to be rude, _nephew_. I do have a worthwhile proposition you best take up because I won't be so generous in the future."

Peter spoke up next. "Then what is this proposition?"

Miraz looked at Peter and gave him a sick smile. "Ah, King Peter, is it? Yes, I've heard stories about you. The brave, strong, magnificent king and how he abandoned his country at its most vulnerable. My how the mighty have fallen..."

Peter didn't flinch. He'd come to terms with what he'd done. The past is the past. "Well we've all made our fair share of mistakes. I know you have. Your reputation precedes you as well." Peter gave him a smirk as though he knew something Miraz didn't. This put Miraz at unease so much so that his scowl only grew. Before Miraz could reply, Peter spoke up again and in a bored tone to emphasize dominance. "Can we please get on with this so called 'proposition'? Contrary to _your_ beliefs, we actually do have better places to be." Miraz's face hardened at the taunting and being talked down.

Before things could get even more heated between the kings, Glozelle stepped in as a communications liason between the Telmarines and Narnians. It was safer, per se, this way especially considering how irritated and impatient Miraz already was. "In exchange for the safe return of his son, King Miraz has agreed to allow all Narnians to live but must move to a different country. Prince Caspian may also leave with his life as long as he and the rest of the Narnians promise to never return."

The Narnian royals were infuriated. Miraz was telling them to uproot their lives and leave the only place they'd ever known. Generations of Narnians lived in these lands. Aslan himself gave rise to this country. They couldn't just leave. This is home. Edmund gripped one of his two swords tightly. He was ready to pull it out and just attack Miraz where he stood for even insinuating the Narnians would just relocate their lives. But Caspian spoke before he could do anything rash. "I'd rather lose my life for this land than have these people lose their heritage. I think I speak for all of us when I say that your deal is refused."

Peter was impressed to say the least. Sure he knew Caspian wouldn't just submit, but he didn't expect Caspian to be the first to speak either. Apparently, neither did his uncle. "Somehow that backbone doesn't suit you, boy. You would do well to consider your options before you refuse me. Those filthy Narnians don't stand a chance against my army."

That was enough to push Edmund over the edge. He pulled out both of his blades and stood in a ready stance as Peter and Caspian followed suit. Susan knelt down to the baby as though protecting him. The Telmarines also pulled out their weapons but Miraz had them lower their weapons and to sheath their swords. "We don't need to start a battle now. We can make things easier." He gave a long pause and looked back at the Narnian Royals and Telmarine traitor with a smirk on his bearded face. "I'll offer you another proposition. Return the child and I'll give you twelve days of peace. In those twelve days, I suggest you think over this next offer." Another pregnant pause… "I'll allow _you're _people to live in exchange for _his _head on a silver platter." Miraz nodded in Caspian's direction.

If the Pevensies weren't sickened by anything about this war, they were now. Miraz just asked for the head of his own nephew. To add to the sickening realization, they knew Miraz wanted his _actual_ head. What kind of mad man was this? He would kill his own nephew for the throne. Sure they knew he killed his own brother, but to blatantly ask for the death of his nephew? It struck a serious chord in the hearts of the three Pevensies.

Miraz took the pause as an opportunity to continue speaking. "Or I could take the child by force and the lives of Prince Caspian and your filthy kind. Your choice…"

Before any more arguments could erupt, Susan finally stood up from her spot with the child and quickly pulled out her bow and notched an arrow with practiced ease. She pointed it at Miraz with a determined look on her face. "If you _want_ them, come and _claim_ them."

Miraz shouldn't have been afraid of her, but something about the look in her eyes made him stop where he stood. He seethed pure anger at Susan. "Fine. I see that we're not going to agree. In that case, I hope you enjoy your next few nights…because they will be your last." He waved a hand at his guards as he turned in the direction of his carriage. Susan's anger and hold on her bow didn't waiver as she stared at Miraz's retreating form. She slowly relaxed as she realized her brothers and Caspian were about to get ready to leave as well.

As Miraz turned towards his carriage, he said something in a quieter tone towards his guards so that the Narnians wouldn't hear. As he did this, his wife gazed longingly at the baby who was still on the ground in a basket, sleeping as though the world really wasn't falling apart. Susan put away both the bow and arrow and knelt to pick up the baby. As she lifted the basket, she made the mistake of looking Prunaprismia in the eyes. Prunaprismia stared back at her. There was no anger or hate in her eyes, just a look of pure sadness and grief at the loss of her child.

They stayed that way for a little while considering no one noticed them. Susan was finally able to break the painful eye contact as she turned to make her way back to the horse. When Prunaprismia noticed the Narnian Queen turn to leave with her baby, she lost it. With a loud scream, she was ready to run across the bridge and claim her child herself. "No!"

Before she could do anything rash, Glozelle grabbed her arms and held her through she struggled against him. She continued her yells of "no" and crying out her anguish. Glozelle pulled her close to him and whispered to her words of apology and words of comfort. "It's going to be alright." "There's nothing we can do about it." And so many other words to try and console the queen. It wasn't long until more guards came and helped to escort her to the carriage where Miraz was looking at her with disapproval at her weakness.

Susan heard the mother's screams of anguish but didn't dare to turn around. She re-saddled her horse with the baby in one arm and inconspicuously let a single tear fall from her eye. The boys heard as well and were brave enough to turn and look back. They were shocked at the behavior of the Telmarine queen. What was more shocking was the fact that it proved that _their_ kind really could be human. But otherwise, they also re-saddled their horses and turned away from the scene.

The carriage began to pull forward and the Telmarines were returning to their castle. The four royals were about to leave as well but Susan took one more glance at the retreating Telmarines. Sorrow and pity bled from her heart toward the Telmarine queen and the child she held in her arms.

Before they left for their journey back to the How, Peter whispered to his fellow royals the exact same thing Miraz whispered to his guards. "Assemble the army."

**I had an epiphany. You know what I recently realized? That I'm a horrible, horrible person. I was updating (and soon to be finishing) my most recent Narnia story and it somehow got me exploring my profile which got me looking at past reviews and stuff. I realized that I have soooooooooooo many super sweet reviews and I'm pretty sure only 10 percent of the time do I actually reply with a personal thank you. I'm a horrible, horrible person; no wonder karma continues to bite me in the butt.**

**This is delayed but to EVERYONE who ever reviews(ed) any of my stories, I am soooooooo sorry that I never thank you and I truly appreciate you taking the time to read and review my stories (and listen to me rant every once in a while about my life). You guys really are what make my world go round because I literally live to serve you all. I promise to try harder in replying but I hope that this pathetic excuse of an apology and appreciation letter is enough for you guys for now. I know it wouldn't be enough for me (be I in your shoes) but we all gotta start somewhere. I love you all for what you do and what you give me. I hope you stay with me through the end, whether 'till the end of this story or until the end of my writing career (fanfiction or otherwise).**

**Truly, Thank you, from the bottom of my heart**

**-Kristen (tin2lo)**


	19. Chapter 19

**So I was pretty excited and in a good mood so I decided to finally write up this chapter. Why am I in a good mood? Well my life's been pretty boring considering I'm doing my first semester of college online and also considering a lot of things have just been boring compared to the fact that I went to LeakyCon in August (it was TOTALLY AWESOME and yes I DID see AVPSY). But this past week has been awesome. My dad who works in NY but comes down for the weekends was stranded here with us because of Hurricane Sandy (but I do hope all of you North Easterners are alright…I hear things are finally getting back to normal). I finally read and saw "The Perks of Being a Wallflower." I dressed up as Taz from StarKid's musical production "Starship" and looked totally awesome if I do say so myself. Had my piano lesson postponed due to Halloween. And lastly, the cherry on top…So despite the fact that I spent a little over $300 of my own money for the Harry Potter Wizard's Collection (totally worth it) and I told myself I wouldn't spend so much anymore, yesterday I bought the StarKid Limited Edition SPACE Tour/Apocalyptour DVD box set. I needed reassurance from my close buddy schaferdramaqueen but in the end I DID get it and I can't wait to have it shipped to me. I'm so excited! But my Sunday excitement doesn't stop there. I went to a carnival yesterday and ate amazing food and won a framed Harry Potter poster at one of the game booths. Then we went to an outlet mall where I (being a nerd and Nerdfighter) hung out at Barnes and Noble. I was debating whether or not I should finally get a copy of John Green's **_**The Fault in Our Stars**_** but I finally bought a copy when I found one (actually two) that said "signed copy." So yes I am now also the proud owner of a copy of TFiOS with a J scribble (no Hanklerfish though). So yes my week was awesome. So yes this chapter is here today. How have you guys been?**

_First, you think the worst is a broken heart  
What's gonna kill you is the Second part  
And the Third, is when your world splits down the middle  
And Fourth, you're gonna think that you've fixed yourself  
Fifth, you see them out with someone else  
And Sixth is when you admit you may have f***ed up a little_

_No, no there ain't no help, it's every man for himself_

"Six Degrees of Separation" by The Script from their new album #3

Up until now, the Telmarine Queen held a calm head and a soft personality. Many had believed she couldn't be fit as a queen due to that particular trait and her husband even tried to find ways to get it out of her. Other than being soft, she proved to be loyal. She never spoke unless spoken to, she was a figure head and was submissive to everything her husband did, she never created a spectacle, and she provided the throne with a male heir. It was safe to say that she loved her husband and her people.

But the only thing, the only person, she loved more than all of that put together was her son. The moment he was born, the center of her world shifted. The war would always come second to her after the needs of her son. The moment she realized all the blood her husband had on his hands, she vowed to protect her child and keep him from whatever trouble Miraz was brewing. But that all changed when she had allowed her son to get kidnapped. Not knowing where her son was agony…knowing where he was but also knowing she couldn't have him back, that was torture.

She felt like a failure as a mother. She should've seen something like this coming. The very fact that she could do nothing but yell and scream while her husband walked away from their son ate away at her soul and tore at her heart. Miraz was the epitome, the very definition of a hardened and cold hearted Telmarine. Had she seen it sooner or had she not been blinded by power or love (she wasn't quite sure which of the two anymore), she could've saved herself and her child from the fate they were currently living in. But now it was too late. Her baby was being cared for by another woman…and a Narnian at that. And to add insult to injury, her people had committed genocide against said woman and her kind.

As the sun was beginning to set, Prunaprismia felt the last of her tears being shed. No, this wasn't over. She may be the queen, but she was first and foremost a mother. She wasn't a soldier in her husband's army but she'd be just that if it meant saving her child. Her decision was made. She knew what she had to do. It needed to be done soon and in secret. It was a good thing her husband was too busy devising strategy or whatever to even give a care for his family. She grabbed a simple black cape from her closet and walked with purpose to the stables. She was so engrossed in what she was planning on doing that she didn't notice she was being followed.

Meanwhile…

It was one of those rare moments where Lucy really did fear for her life. Oh dear Aslan, what was she doing? If the boys ever found out…oh Aslan…no, she was doing the right thing. That's what the Valiant queen told herself as she moved with stealth that would've put the British Secret Service to shame. In record time Lucy made it from the side (secret) entrance of Aslan's How to Susan's makeshift bedchambers without being noticed. She took a deep breath before entering the room.

Susan was lying down on a slab of hard stone with a blanket on top of it and her arm as a pillow as she rested on her side. The baby was on the opposite side of the room (it was a small room really, so it's not like he was really on the other side) in a makeshift crib with his basket and the rest of the blankets Susan could've been using to help her sleep more comfortably.

Lucy stood by Susan's side and was hesitant in her actions. Since the baby fiasco started, Susan had gotten even less sleep than usual and Lucy didn't want to wake her from the first decent sleep she's had in a while. But Lucy had to continue reminding herself that what was about to happen far outweighed a couple more hours of sleep for Susan.

Lucy stayed firmly planted where she stood by Susan's door. She could feel energy surrounding the sword that was so close to her back but was barely visible behind the door. She didn't have a choice, really in retrospect, over whether or not she was supposed to be doing what she was doing because of the sword pointed at her back but she liked the idea that she had some kind of decision in what was about to occur. Taking a deep breath, she began waking Susan in hushed yet loud enough whispers. "Susan, wake up…"

Although Susan looked and felt exhausted, she immediately woke up in a start despite not being able to wake up at all had Lucy done that several years ago. When Susan noticed it was only Lucy standing by the door, her sense of alertness left her as she propped herself up on her elbows. "Lucy…what is it? Why aren't you in bed?"

Lucy's face held a bit of fear and Susan began to get concerned. "We need your help…" Before Susan could question her, the sword at Lucy's back became more visible as it nudged Lucy into the room and the wielder of the sword entered: General Glozelle. Susan immediately got up and grabbed the sword she had propped up close to her bed side and pointed it at the Telmarine General. Susan could've easily done something to alert the others, but raising panic was not a good idea. Besides who knows how many other soldiers were waiting outside. Sounding alarm and panic would only cause the battle to ensue faster. At least if she took him out now, she could quietly warn the others and surprise the opposing army. She pointed the sword at him. "Release my sister _immediately_…"

She stared hard at him, but he only lowered his weapon. She honestly did not expect that. He held both hands up in a surrender form before speaking in his thick Telmarine accent. "I did not wish to fight you or hurt your sister. We just needed to talk to you."

To say she was confused was an understatement. She stood there speechless, not quite sure what to expect or what to do. She was quiet when she finally spoke. "_We…?"_

Susan didn't lower her sword as she watched Glozelle and Lucy move to make room for a fourth person to enter the tiny room. The new person wore a cape that covered her face but the lower half of her body was covered by a light weight looking dress, obvious indication of the new person being a woman. The woman pulled down her cape to reveal herself to be Queen Prunaprismia of the Telmarines.

Susan's jaw could've hit the floor with how shocked she was. What was the _Queen_ of the opposing army doing her room? As the two queens of the opposing sides stared at each other, it was almost surreal to Lucy at how different and yet extremely similar the two women were. Sure, they had different histories, different backgrounds, different ways of living, and different beliefs and morals. But behind the title, formalities, and culture shock, they were both still just two women fighting for what they loved most. For Susan it was for the land she loved and held onto. For Prunaprismia, it was her child.

Susan put away her sword. This woman was no threat and if Glozelle was a threat than he would've done something by now or at least continued to hold Lucy hostage. From the moment Prunaprismia walked through the door, her watery eyes were immediately on her son in the makeshift crib. It was an intimate moment that Susan didn't have the heart to disrupt. It didn't take long for the Telmarine Queen to finally break down into tears. She fell onto her knees and grasped Susan's skirt for support. Glozelle was about to move forward to help her but Susan raised a hand and the general felt a need to obey.

Susan knelt down in front of Prunaprismia and looked to Lucy. "Keep watch…" Lucy nodded towards her sister. As she passed the general, she gave him a look of sympathy as well as a nod of respect of which he returned. When Lucy finally shut the door, Susan lifted Prunaprismia from the floor and sat her down on the bed. "You took a great risk coming here…" Susan lifted her head to acknowledge the general as well. "…you both did. And I won't pretend to know why you've come, but I would like to know how it is you managed to get here in the first place."

Queen Prunaprismia looked behind her and towards General Glozelle who stepped forward and began telling their tale.

_Flashback:_

_Prunaprismia used all of the secret passages and dark hallways, any place that would get her to the stables quickly and inconspicuously. She thought she was successful when she finally made it to the stables and readied her horse on her own. She was so engrossed in her actions that she didn't realize she was followed. It wasn't until a hand was placed over her mouth and she was turned around._

_She let out a sigh of relief when she was turned to see General Glozelle. He quickly removed his hand from her mouth when he thought she wouldn't scream. "What do you think you're doing?"_

_He didn't look angry, just confused. "I am your Queen, I don't need to answer to you…What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be with Miraz?" She wasn't really angry at the prospect of being stopped. More so because he didn't have a right to stop her and the mention of her husband only made things worse._

"_The king is discussing the coming events and I have…angered him this night, so I will not be needed. With all due respect, my lady, I only wished to see that you were safe. Where do you plan on going when there is a war just outside these palace walls?"_

_Prunaprismia sighed. Glozelle never wronged her. He was just wrong in still following Miraz after all that Miraz has done. "I'm going to get my son back." And with that she returned to fixing her horse._

_Glozelle was shocked. The Queen was going to risk her life, leave the palace walls, sneak into the Narnian camp, and attempt to get her son back and still make it back to the castle before the sun rose. "My lady, you do realize that your mission is highly dangerous. You could get killed if you are discovered. And if Miraz finds out what you've done, he may kill you himself." Glozelle was truly worried for her. The only wrong she ever committed in her life was marrying a deranged, bloodthirsty man._

"_I don't care what the risks are. If the Narnians kill me then so be it but I will not sit around worrying about whether or not I will live to see my son again. I would rather die. I don't care what Miraz thinks anymore. The fact that he let our enemies walk away with our child without even batting an eyelash, tells me that he no longer cares for his family. It is his throne he cares for…not his wife."_

_She was about to jump onto the horse until she felt a hand on her shoulder again. "Let me come with you. I don't know how the endgame will play out but I will help you get there."_

_She nodded and both saddled up and rode out of the castle without being detected._

_The trip to get to the How wasn't too difficult. Glozelle was able to remember most of the navigation even in the dark considering he chased Prince Caspian through those very woods a while ago. It was getting there without being noticed that was the difficult part. It wasn't long until they spotted the How in the distance. This was the part Glozelle was worried about, what exactly were they supposed to do now? Just walk right into the How and hope they don't kill them? "How exactly do you plan on getting your son back?"_

_The Queen was a little worried. She hadn't completely thought this through. But no matter how many times she rearranged her plan, there was always one component that always remained constant. "I need to find a way to talk with their Queen alone." Prunaprismia had a short 'moment' with Queen Susan. Neither of them wanted harm towards the child. By looking into the Narnian Queen's eyes, she knew that the Gentle Queen wanted the child returned to his mother just as much as the mother wanted her son back._

_Glozelle sighed. Queen Prunaprismia's plan wasn't going to be easy. Queen Susan is one of the core leaders. She would most likely be heavily guarded. But as luck would have it, an opportunity arose that would surely make things easier for them._

_While they were hiding in the distant bushes, they saw a figure walking towards them. Glozelle tightened his hold on his sword but as the figure approached, its silhouette was that of a girl, barely older than thirteen. They heard her speak as they stayed hidden. "Aslan? Aslan is that you?"_

_When the little girl was close enough, Glozelle used the opportune moment and covered her mouth and restrained her. She was struggling to get away from her captor, doing anything she could so he would release her mouth so at least she could scream for help. She also tried reaching for her dagger but both her hands were held behind her back. She didn't stop fussing until she heard a soft female voice. "Shhh…we don't mean to hurt you. We just need your help…Queen Lucy."_

_End Flashback_

By the end of the story, Susan didn't know what to say (if she knew what to say before). When Susan didn't speak after a while, Prunaprismia took both of Susan's hands into her own as she looked straight into Susan's eyes with her own watery ones. "Please…I came here not as a queen or even as an enemy. I came as a mother. All I want is my son." Prunaprismia looked down at their intertwined hands and took a deep breath as a few tears fell. "I care not for this war anymore. My father and my son are the only things I have left in the world."

Susan released the hold the Telmarine Queen had on her and walked to the makeshift crib. Prunaprismia stayed on the bed but looked on with an almost hopeful look. She waited with bated breath for the Narnian Queen to speak. "I have wanted nothing more than to return him to you the minute we found him…but fate does not always make things easy on us." She turned back to face Prunaprismia who was anxious to hear the verdict. "I know that what you want is for me to let you walk out of here with your son…but I can't do that just yet."

Prunaprismia's face fell as Glozelle moved forward angrily, almost unsheathing his sword. "Why will you not return the boy? You have no right to hold him like some kind of hostage or bargaining chip." At this point he did unsheathe his sword and pointed it at Susan's neck. "You will release him to us immediately." Prunaprismia was in too much shock from being denied her son that she didn't even stop Glozelle.

Susan looked at Glozelle with a hard glare but she showed no fear in her eyes. "You're right I don't have a right to hold him. But I do have a duty to do what I think is right." She looked from Glozelle to Prunaprismia who still sat on the bed with a hopeless expression on her face. "I'm not a mother so can't pretend to know how you feel right now. But I am a sister, and leader, and a friend. I know what loss feels like and I would never wish it on anybody…but I can't allow you to take him from here only to return back to your castle where one man makes it just as dangerous to live there than it is to live here." She looked back at Glozelle who was slowly removing the sword from her throat. "You're king did not hesitate to leave behind his son and heir. He will not hesitate to kill his wife and queen when he finds out what she has done this night. And when the queen is out of the picture, who will protect the boy as he lives his life?"

Glozelle stepped back. She was right. The baby was safer away from Miraz, but the queen was slowly disintegrating at the thought of not being with her child. What were they to do? Before they could say anything, Susan walked to the door and opened it just enough to get Lucy into the room. "Susan you need to hurry, it won't be long until the night patrols stroll down this hallway."

Susan held onto Lucy's shoulders and gave her a hard stare. "Listen to me, Lu. What I'm about to tell you is extremely important and cannot be repeated to anyone. Am I understood?"

Lucy nodded and allowed Susan to continue. "I need you to prepare for me enough food for three people that should last at least a day or two. I also need you to pack a small amount of our medicines that are safe for the child as well as a dagger and a sword from the armory. Lucy, no one can know of any of this. Not Peter, not Edmund, and especially not Caspian."

Lucy nodded her understanding again. "But Su, why-"

She didn't even get a chance to finish her question when Susan cut her off. "Just understand that it's better that you know very little. Put all of the items together on my horse and have him saddled and ready for departure within the next half hour. I promise you'll know everything by the time this is over. Now go…" And with that Lucy left to quickly grab all of the supplies needed. She prayed to Aslan that whatever Susan was planning would end well and that she herself wouldn't let Susan down.

Back in the room, it was Prunaprismia and Glozelle's turn to be confused. Before they could speak, Susan again spoke first…her mind was moving at a hundred miles a second and she wasn't planning on slowing down for anyone. "I can't have you returning to that castle with the baby only to meet your death. If you want to get away from Miraz's tyranny alive and with your family, then what I want you to do right now is to trust me and listen to what I have to say."

Prunaprismia looked from Glozelle then back at Susan. She didn't really have anything to lose if she trusted the Narnian Queen. Susan already held her son in her possession. Prunaprismia nodded and answered. "I trust you."

Susan let out a sigh of relief and sat on the bed again and looked Prunaprismia straight in the eyes so that she knew the other queen understood everything she was about to say. "I want you to go back to the castle. Get your father and pack enough food to last for the two of you and the baby. Get enough clothes that you can carry and whatever possessions you feel the need to take with you. I want you to meet me at the ruins of Cair Paravel within the next hour. We don't have much time. I'm going to take you to a safe house where Miraz wouldn't think to look for you. You and your family will be safe until this war is over. A very small amount of people still know of this safe house."

Neither Prunaprismia nor Glozelle could believe it. The Narnian queen was going to help the Telmarine queen find safety. When the shock finally wore off from Prunaprismia she spoke. "Why…after all my people have done to you…why would you help me?"

"Don't you think enough families have been torn apart because of this war? I'm sure when this is all over, you'd like to see your nephew again. I'm not going to let another family fall when there's something that I can do to help. My own family has been torn enough and I would never wish that on anyone."

Prunaprismia looked at Susan with a look of genuine appreciation mixed with some shock. "Thank you. You truly are one of Narnia's greatest rulers."

Susan nodded in appreciation at the comment but quickly stood. "Now you must leave quickly. I hope you remember your way back to your horses because I can only escort you so far without suspicion." And with that, the three of them quickly fled the How without being noticed.

Susan couldn't go far due to the fact that someone was bound to notice but the dark of the night kept them all well hidden. Susan looked at the two of them. "You have one hour to meet me in the ruins of Cair Paravel or I'm taking him back to the How." Prunaprismia and Glozelle nodded their understanding and quickly left to find their horses and make preparations.

As Susan walked back, she carefully thought every detail of her plan through, making sure that nothing was left to chance. As she entered her bedchambers, she gasped in fright when she saw Edmund sitting on her bed with his arms crossed and a hard expression on his face. "What do you think you're doing?"

The two of them knew each other well enough to know that there was no point in lying to each other or skipping around the subject. "I'm going to help her find safety until this war is over. She is innocent. She shouldn't have to live in fear of her husband when she has done nothing wrong."

"I know." Edmund was calm…too calm…his words sunk into Susan.

"Wait, what do you mean you know?"

"I came to check on you to see if you were alright when I saw Lucy frantically leaving your bedchamber. I figured something was up but before I could knock or barge in, I heard you talking to someone and decided to eavesdrop." Edmund had a smug smile on his face.

Susan let out an exasperated sigh. "Thirteen hundred years and you're still as immature as the day you landed your butt in this land."

Edmund stood up and shrugged. "And you still love me for it."

Susan let out a small laugh. "That I do…"

Edmund looked at his sister seriously. "I'll buy you time if you need it." She nodded her thanks but said nothing and turned away from him. "Where exactly do you plan on taking them?"

This was the part she was afraid of telling him. She was going to take them to a place that the two of them still feared going alone to…a place that still haunted them at times. "Lantern Waste."

**I got to thinking, if I plan correctly and don't have any more storyline epiphanies, I could pretty much end this story in about two to three chapters. Exciting right? I have a sequel in mind (yes already), but I'm debating whether or not it'll…work. We'll see. Or I might just not have a sequel (unfortunately my OTP is changing once again). Again, we'll see.**

**Also, I wanna say one more thing before I leave you to review or exit out of this screen. So everywhere I go (on FF) authors seem to be giving out their facebook/tumblr/twitter usernames. And people have also been PM-ing me questions ranging from "Can you help me with my own story…?" to "Why won't you update…?" Soooo this leads me to thinking: I'm a fan, you guys are fans, let's all geek out together. Besides I need to make more friends who are Nerdfighters and StarKids. So if you're a StarKid fan, a Nerdfighter, a fan of my work, or a fan of all fiction who is just totally awesome…tweet me _plasticbaggy1_. I literally only use my twitter account for celebrity stalking purposes and I usually only tweet if I need to vent and can't use it as a facebook status (pathetic? I think so). But I guess it's an easier way of communicating other than FF. **

**Review and DFTBA**

**-tin2lo**


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